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A Sky of Infinite Blue
A Japanese Immigrant’s Search for Home and Self
From an early age, Kyomi’s life was filled with emotional difficulties—an adulterous father, an overreliant mother, and a dismissive extended family. In an effort to escape the darkness of her existence in Japan, Kyomi moved to the States in February 1990 to start a new life as a researcher working at NIH in Bethesda, MD. Soon, she fell in love with her husband-to-be: Patrick, a warm, charismatic British cancer researcher whose unconditional love and support helped her begin to heal the traumas of her past. Eventually, their journey together led them to change their careers and move to San Diego, CA, where they dedicated themselves to a Buddhism practice that changed both their lives—aiding them in their spiritual growth and in realizing their desire to help others.
Then Patrick was diagnosed with stage IV metastatic melanoma in the brain—and, after a fierce, three-year-long battle against his cancer, died on July 4, 2016. Devastated, Kyomi spent a year lost in grief. But when she one day began to write, she discovered that doing so allowed her to uncover truths about herself, her life history, and her relationship with Patrick. In the process, she surfaced many old, unhealed wounds—but ultimately writing became her daily spiritual practice, and many truths emerged out of the darkness. After many years of struggle and searching, Kyomi finally found the love and light that had existed within her all along.
Praise for A Sky of Infinite Blue
“A Sky of Infinite Blue is a touching and thought-provoking memoir that offers a powerful message of hope and healing in the face of loss. There is such a quiet grace to the writing that is so impressive. This book is a treasure, and I am a better person for having read it.”
—IBPA Benjamin Franklin Book Award Judge
“A Sky of Infinite Blue” is a touching and thought-provoking memoir that offers a powerful message of hope and healing in the face of loss. There is such a quiet grace to the writing that is so impressive. This book is a treasure, and I am a better person for having read it.”
—IBPA Benjamin Franklin Book Award Judge
“An engaging and poignant immigrant account with sharp, sincere, and tenderly insightful writing.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Quiet, meditative, and graceful, the memoir A Sky of Infinite Blue intertwines a spiritual journey with the personal pursuit of freedom. . . . A Sky of Infinite Blue stands as a testament to the power of self-examination and spiritual practice.”
—Foreword Reviews, 5 stars
“…A Sky of Infinite Blue is a book written with no small degree of bravery, but the risk taken has paid out handsomely as it has resulted in a moving and insightful memoir. I cannot imagine someone reading it from cover to cover without feeling moved and enlightened by the experience.”
–Readers’ Favorite, 5 stars
Kyomi O’Connor deftly weaves personal narrative with spiritual guidance in her unforgettable memoir. Powerful and heartrending, A Sky of Infinite Blue is a soaring account of self-examination and resilience in the face of overwhelming grief, a lantern of spirituality illuminating the darkness.
A remarkable account of a life filled with trials, ultimately leading to spiritual growth, love, and warm-hearted wisdom. I had trouble putting this book down. Kudos to Kyomi O’Connor for a well-told tale of forgiveness, strength, and staying in the moment. I highly recommend A Sky of Infinite Blue.
A Sky of Infinite Blue is poignant and moving. You will be inspired, impressed, and amazed at Kyomi’s resilience and devotion to not only the men in her life but to her family and herself.
A love story with many twists and turns. This book will shed light on the tragedy of living a life of feeling ‘less’ yet ultimately rising above all hardship to ultimately love oneself as much as you love others.
A Sky of Infinite Blue reflects Kyomi’s spiritual journey starting from her childhood to her own family building bridged between the East and West. Her journey portrays drawing and captivating moments with beautifully woven metaphors and self-reflections. In the end, peace and light were bestowed on her once-wounded soul.
Kyomi’s memoir grips your heart from the first words of the prologue and doesn’t let go. It is a love story between Kyomi and her partner, her faith, her very essence of self, and the broader human experience. While deeply personal, it shares truths of the human spirit that are so universal, one cannot help but feel a connection to her paradoxically unique and yet fundamentally common humanity. She fearlessly and genuinely shares her courage and her pain, inspiring all of us to “turn our scars and wounds into treasures.
Kyomi O’Connor shares her struggle in finding meaning and purpose that many of us fail to realize. Her story is a modern day telling of Siddhartha’s intellectual and spiritual journey to find peace in a selfless life. This may help us all find a little more light and blue sky within the darkness and pressures of modern society.
A Sky of Infinite Blue is a compelling tale of love and loss, rich in wonder, feeling, and surprise. O’Connor will invite you in, serve you tea, and disarm you with her simple warmth, goodwill, and honesty. Your tea, though, may grow cold, forgotten, by the time you turn the final page.
Kyomi’s poetic and beautiful memoir is a deeply authentic story of her journey to become whole, to claim herself. Her story invites us all to go into the core of our Being and find the spiritual truths that guide us through dark nights of the soul, allow us to see the light.
A Sky of Infinite Blue is like a beautiful piece of music, complex in its harmonies as she peels back the layers of her psyche and her relationship to her beloved husband. Her writing is courageous; she never shies away from telling the truth about her personal struggles and the difficulties of her marriage.
A Sky of Infinite Blue is a poignant weaving of the difficult and the delightful. Kyomi O’Connor’s unfolding life story shows how transformation happens through a mixture of deep love, painful loss, and devotion to faith and community that offers support when life also dismantles you.
An absorbing story. Kyomi explores life through the lens of child- hood, teachings, and especially, the flowering of her spirituality. In its fierce quest for meaning, Kyomi’s book reveals her amazing, indomitable spirit.
This story dramatically begins with the end: the loss of a best friend, lover, and husband. A fascinating page-turner; many lessons can be learned in this tale of passion, friendship, and determination where a bright side to sadness is found. A joy to read and a compelling memoir I didn’t want to end.
Kyomi O’Connor has boldly and bravely written a compelling book. It is full of life, with all its sorrows, joys, moments, thoughts, conflicts, trials, and emotions. Real wisdom lives here, infused with the Buddhist teachings that guide Kyomi. I urge you to read this book and accompany Kyomi on her journey through life. Its richness is guaranteed to inform your own life journey.
A reminder to all of us how life is an ever-unfolding river from which the events of childhood, adulthood, and tragedy can continuously be interpreted, reinterpreted, and altered by new understanding. These can and should be looked at as areas of growth and fodder for our future selves, leading to a sky of infinite blue for all of us.
A deeply personal journey filled with moments of intense pain, absolute joy, and, ultimately, a sense of acceptance and peace. Kyomi’s efforts to understand and learn from these experiences are influenced by having a foot in two cultures and by the strings that tie her to the family of her birth and of her own making. Her compassion for the people in her life is present on every page, even when she struggles to decipher the meaning behind their actions and emotions.