After sending Joseph away, I spent a long time with a sad heart. I tried to overcome my sadness, but even now, I cry when I think of Joseph. As they say, “When a husband dies, a woman buries it in the mountain, and when a child dies, woman buries it in their heart.” A deep sense of loss, biting sadness, and a dazed feeling as if I had been hit in the back of the head with a heavy, blunt hammer engulfed me. It couldn't end like this. My life, which is over sixty years old, is also a life, but I felt that I needed to sort out the life of my son, who left without even being able to say a final goodbye to the family and friends who loved him. I want to tell people how Joseph was born, what kind of person he was, and how he lived as a young man.

Joseph was an ordinary son, but he was a free spirit who lived a wonderful life.The life of my son Joseph was, in a few words, a short and bold life. He was loved and gave love to everyone during his short life. This book is for Joseph and those who love him. It is no exaggeration to say that this is a collection of Joseph’s remains,as it contains the diary, poems, and letters he left behind. It is a coauthored book that combines his writing and my heart as a mother.

This book contains the story of how I gave birth to and raised Joseph, as well as the bicycle travel diary that Joseph wrote before he passed away. It also contains letters written by friends and family members who loved

Joseph as they missed him. We collected, translated, and published friend’s letters one by one.

Joseph is gone, but we want to be with him forever. I hope that this book ‘With Joseph’ becomes a space where everyone, including the family and friends who love him, can meet and talk about Joseph.I thank God for comforting and guiding me, my family, and everyone who loved Joseph. We will miss Joseph, but I hope this book ‘With Joseph’ will keep him with us. It’s just a healthy separation where we live apart for a while. I will meet my son Joseph again

some day with joy.

― Publishing the book ‘With Joseph’ by Helen Miok Annis