Parables, Kindness, & Speaking Through Action

At Girls Write Now , we know the power of words. But as 2024 Honoree, James C. Rhee , reminds us, sometimes actions speak louder. Reflecting on the lessons learned from his mother, and the modest wisdom of his father, Rhee shares the forces that pushed him to make change in the world, and gave him the power to put pen to paper about his own lessons learned along the way. 

Celebrating the release of his first book, red helicopter: a parable for our times out today on HarperOne, Rhee’s words are filled with the power of life-long practice. He shares what it means to act with kindness, embrace confusion and make the world you want to live in. 

Girls Write Now is thrilled to honor James Rhee at our 25th Anniversary Radical Gratitude Fall Awards on October 10th at DVF Studios, NYC.

His story, in his words.

Tell us about your Life@GWN

I am a fifty-three year old man, new to the publishing industry. My first book, red helicopter: a parable for our times, was recently published by HarperOne. Consistent with its mission of embracing new voices and relationships, of finding commonality in difference, Girls Write Now has been generous in welcoming me to their community. I’ve committed my life to investing in people, and I am thrilled to join hands with an organization whose core mission is to figuratively and literally amplify the voices of truth tellers.

When Did You First Feel Like an Adult?

For me, adulthood is not a state; it’s a journey. The first real inkling of what adulthood meant was the moment I cradled my first child in my arms. Its real meaning, however, only manifested itself after burying both of my parents; first my father, then my mother. Following their deaths, I visited my childhood home with my wife and our three children. Staring into the past,  I finally understood what adulthood meant in totality. 

What Did You Learn From Your Mother, and What Would She Share with Girls Write Now Mentees?

My book, red helicopter, tracks my evolving comprehension of the true leadership exemplified by my mother and a group of women who bore remarkable resemblance to her.

My mother would not offer words of advice, because she spoke through her actions.

For seventy-eight years, she was relentless in both her generosity and expectations of principled behavior. She never allowed the small slights and indignities she put up with almost daily to define her. 

She never wrongly assumed that everyone around her was an economic being, or a rational actor. In every piece of kalbi she grilled, with every Korean War veteran she nursed, there was love. 

What Type of Friends/Support Systems Do You Try to Surround Yourself With?

I surround myself with those who are kind. Kindness is intentional, both forceful and malleable. 

Kindness is truthful and direct, and its impact is longitudinal, not transactional. 

I am grateful for those people in my life who are willing to provide me with difficult feedback in those occasions when I am not measuring up. They care enough to be courageous. They care enough to not look the other way.

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to play first base for the New York Mets. 

Can You Speak More than One Language?

I used to speak German well enough to write for a travel book in Austria upon graduating from college.

My Korean is okay, though I like to say that I am more fluent in its non-verbal emotions than I am speaking it.

I like to take a more expansive view of the definition of language. I think that I am well versed in the languages of math, finance, law, and music. This has afforded me the opportunity to serve as a translator to many seemingly orthogonal groups with superficially different interests. 

In less than two weeks on April 23, Girls Write Now releases our 25th anniversary book. In celebration of this new book, we're featuring questions in the Life@GWN series this year from the book.

A Prompt from Girls Write Now mentee Jillian Daneshwar-from our newest book Girls Write Now On The Art of The Craft. 

You can send one Post-it note back to your 10-year-old self. What would you say?

Live a life filled with texture, oxymorons, nuance, and fluidity. The very meaning of life is grounded in creation. Produce something, something that creates joy for yourself and others. Don’t be a consumer or a bystander. Be messy.

What was the Best Advice you ever Received? Have You been able to Pass it On?

My father used to say to me, “James, you will never achieve true success unless people are happy for your success.” At its core, his advice was centered on the how, not the what or even the why. Did everyone feel part of the journey? Was everyone better off for the endeavor? Using economic terms, did your achievement create positive externalities for others, for society? In reading the notes his patients wrote after he closed his modest pediatric practice upon retirement, I know that my father lived the advice that his son finally comprehended in his forties.

Is there one thing that instantly makes your day better?

Hearing my wife and children belly laughing. That, and listening to “Born to Run” by Bruce Springsteen.