A Mile in Her Shoes

By Judy Lytle

“A Mile in Her Shoes” is a semi-fictional tale that combines storytelling, a bit of science, and a bit of magical realism to transport the reader through 60 years and across two continents. Judy Lytle presents a “life flashed before my eyes” scenario with a twist, an amazing journey that starts in war-torn Korea in the 1950s, and chronicles the life of her mother, who found true love with a U.S. Air Force sergeant and followed him to America to create their own American dream. This clash of cultures and generations adds humor and poignancy to Lytle’s wonderful tribute to her mother. She was a savvy businesswoman, fill of vim and vigor, quick with a dirty joke. Walk with her through her poverty-stricken war-torn childhood, her fun and thieving teenage years, meeting the love of her life, smoking marijuana, experiencing a culture shock in 1970s America, starting a business only to later watch it go up in flames, and battling more illness than any one person should have to. In a novella filled with vivid imagery, Lytle captures the essence of her mother's engaging history, transporting the reader directly into the life of a captivating woman, beautiful in her strength and fierce in her expressiveness. She loved with all of her heart, but her wrath came from the depths of her soul, consequences be damned. The story is charming and moving, and rich in details and imagery. Lytle brings her own scientific skepticism to A Mile in Her Shoes, but she leaves open the possibility that it was her mother’s spirit dictating the details.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Judy Lytle
• Release date: Jan 13, 2016
• ISBN: 9781310548413

Judy Lytle

Judy Lytle currently works in non-profit scientific research. She received her PhD in Neuroscience from Georgetown University, and has spent the last 10 years managing research programs for the Federal Government, private philanthropy, and now non-profit. She is an athlete and certified fitness instructor, who has participated in team sports, martial arts, and triathlon her entire life. She lives in Seattle, WA with her loving husband Shamyl Zakariya, two sweet little dachshunds, and one very ungrateful cat. Judy has written one book, "A Mile in Her Shoes," as a tribute to her dearly departed mother, who was indeed a force to be reckoned with.

Book preview

PART I

Bigfoot & the Supernatural

CHAPTER 1

"I sure will be glad when scientists discover a cure for Natural Causes."

-Anonymous

*****

I’d like to talk about seeing dead people.

Ok, maybe that’s a bit much. Let’s back up.

I lost my mother to a rare and aggressive cancer before I turned 30. She was only in her 50s. And more than anything, I desperately wanted to believe that she was still around. Our relationship had been a rocky one, and we only really started to get to know each other as women when she was diagnosed, less than one year before she lost her battle with the disease. I moved out of the house at 18 years old, never returning once I left for college. There were years of silence, spurred on by stubbornness and self-righteous attitudes, both seemingly genetic traits in our family. Then I left for graduate school, moving just far enough to make it difficult to visit. She was diagnosed not long after I received my PhD. Her diagnosis broke yet another streak of silence. The threat of impending death was just the push we needed to bring us closer.

My father, brother, sister and I all really believed that if anyone could out-stubborn cancer, it was her. She had overcome so much in her life already, it seemed that cancer just didn’t stand a chance. My mother almost died as an infant at the hands of her own mother. She survived her youth in post-war Korea, a country ravished by conflict and overflowing with poverty- a far cry from the industrialized, urban nation that it is today. She lost two siblings before she turned eight, and she lost her father in her young adulthood.

My mother never really talked about her life in Korea- a story here or there at most. And we didn’t push her to relive a life forgotten. She met, fell in love with, and married my father, a U.S. Air Force sergeant from an Italian-Catholic neighborhood of South Philly, moved to the United States, and never looked back. After moving to America, she fought racism and prejudice constantly. She never taught us to speak Korean - she was far too worried about her English and making a new life for herself here. And she wanted her children to be truly American. She was as distant from a traditional Korean woman of her generation as you could get. She cursed. She told dirty jokes. She wore her heart on her sleeve, and she didn’t put up with any nonsense from anyone. She either loved you with all of her heart or she hated you with every fiber of her being. She was exceptional. And just about the most stubborn person I have met in my 36 years on this planet.

Probably like most children growing up in the 80s, I didn’t have a tiger mom. Neither of my parents particularly liked school themselves. My mom always told us that no matter what we wanted to be- a doctor, a janitor, whatever- she would support us, but that we should be the best at it that we could be. Our family is a proud, blue collar, Catholic family from the suburbs of Philadelphia. And despite all that, my parents managed to raise an agnostic scientist who earned an advanced degree from a distinguished institution. I don’t say this to brag. I say this to make a point. Certain scientists (myself included) tend to be skeptical, critical, and data-driven (but I’ll get back to that later). The only divinity we experience is in mathematics. The only visions we see are caused by late nights in the lab, or breathing in too much anesthetic from a poorly ventilating fume hood, which I’ve experienced myself. The story I’m about to tell you put some of my secular beliefs into question.

I can’t quite explain the experience I had- was it a dream? A vision? A supernatural encounter? Did I witness something truly divine? Can I chalk it up to brain chemistry? I don’t know. But I am eternally grateful that it happened.

CHAPTER 2

"Bigfoot doesn’t believe in you, either."

- Tee shirt

*****

My husband and I have been together for over 14 years. Instead of presents, we often enjoy giving each other new experiences for birthdays and anniversaries. Last year for my husband’s birthday, I whisked him away to a scientific conference on the spirit world - his birthday happens to be right before Halloween, and he has a tongue-in-cheek fondness for all things yeti, alien, and paranormal. He enjoys watching documentaries about aliens building the great pyramids, if only to yell at the narrator about the innate intelligence and capabilities of the human race, something often overlooked in such educational pieces of documentary-style drama. So despite myself, off we went to the ghost conference, a three-day learning experience, surrounded by paranormal