Letters to Gabriel

My Enduring Memories as an Immigrant in America

In the midst of post-war Korea, James Pae came into the world, as an only son to his parents struggling to find their place in the world. Unfortunately, at the age of five, Paes parents separated and he and his father immigrated to America in 1973. With a single bag in hand, hearts filled with promises, and deep rooted dreams, they hoped to find a new life in a foreign land.

Since that long ago day, Pae has come to embrace the American life in all its winding, twisting paths. From living in Chicagos inner city slums as a boy to his training with the Chicago Police Academy as a man, Pae learned to deal with the rigors of life in this new country. But it was when he met his future wife, Joyce, that the lessons learned from an early age in Korea to adulthood in America finally made sense.

Letters to Gabriel shares his extraordinary story of hope, struggle, and perseverance in the form of ten letters written to his unborn son intermixed with commentary on Paes life. Written while sitting at the kitchen table of his Chicago home, Paes deeply intimate narrative encompasses the spectrum of human emotion. More than an autobiography, this story reveals the extraordinary link between father and son, and how our parents sacrifices can sometimes only be appreciated once we make them ourselves.