Looking Back Life Was Beautiful
Based on the Webby award-winning Instagram account Drawings for My Grandchildren, this beautifully-illustrated book celebrates the special love shared between grandparents and their grandchildren.
Like many grandparents wishing to stay close to their grandchildren in a world in which so many families are spread across the globe, Korean grandparents Grandpa Chan and Grandma Marina, decided to learn how to use Instagram as a way to stay connected. What started as an intimate family project, their Instagram page @drawings_for_my_grandchildren has attracted a large following and their story has been featured in major press around the world. This book inspired by their Instagram page features Chan's watercolors accompanied by Marina's texts. Whether it's to celebrate Astro becoming a big brother to Lua or to share the story of how the grandparents met for the first time and fell in love during their college years, Looking Back Life was Beautiful echoes with the kind of family love that spans generations and traverses geography.
A testament to the great wisdom only grandparents can provide to younger generations, Looking Back Life Was Beautiful will inspire families to always stay close and connected.
Grandpa Chan (Chan Jae Lee) was born in Seoul, Korea in 1942, and graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in Education. He taught Earth Science at a high school. After immigrating to Brazil, he and his wife ran a small clothing store. After the success of his Instagram project, Grandpa Chan has exhibited his drawings in galleries and museums in Brazil, Costa Rica and Korea.
Grandma Marina (Kyong Ja Ahn) was born in Seoul, Korea in 1942, and graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in Education. She taught Korean and Korean literature at a high school and continued her teaching in Brazil at Korean Sunday school, then at an International School. Grandma Marina frequently wrote for Korean-Brazilian newspapers and literary publications.