by Yvonne Liu
At 60, Rosa Kwon Easton is on the brink of a new chapter in her life with the impending release of her debut novel, “White Mulberry.”
Easton’s path to becoming an author is as complex as the characters in her book. After immigrating to Los Angeles from Korea at age seven her childhood was a delicate balance between her Korean heritage and the American assimilation her parents pursued for their family.
“My parents believed that in a society where we looked different, we had to use our brains to succeed,” the Rolling Hills Estate author said. The pressure to excel academically wasn’t just an external expectation; it also emanated from within. Her father, a banker in Korea, first worked as a janitor in America, while her mother took on night shifts on a factory assembly line.
“Seeing how hard they worked, instilled in me and my two brothers this obligation to satisfy their dreams,” Easton said.
In the Kwon household, as it has been in many Asian American households, immigrant parents pushed their children into stable, lucrative professions like medicine, law and business rather than the arts, sports, and other less stable careers.
“They wanted a certain path for us, one that would ensure a return on whatever we were studying,” Easton said.
This path took her from Smith College to law school. “I practiced for six years and given that law school is three years, the return on investment was very short,” she said with a chuckle. “I pursued and met my goals, but I don’t know if they were my goals to begin with.”
Easton pivoted from the courtroom to raising her children and volunteering. She was president of the Chadwick School Parents Association and a Palos Verdes Performing Arts and Palos Verdes Junior Women’s Club board member.
But as she checked off the boxes of conventional success: education, professional career, a decades long marriage to law partner Mark Easton, Easton yearned to fulfill her childhood dream of becoming a writer.
In her family’s Hawthorne triplex, Easton copied entire books to improve her English. She remembered the rumble of planes flying overhead to and from LAX as a promise of far-off places.
“Those sounds made me dream of a world beyond my immediate surroundings,” she mused.
“White Mulberry” is based on Easton’s Korean grandmother’s years in Japan. It delves into themes of identity and belonging, issues close to Easton’s heart.
“I have grappled with my identity all my life. I felt torn between staying true to my roots and being American, fitting in,” Easton said.
“As a child, I thought I had to be either Korean or American. Now, I understand I can be both. I’m a Korean American. Removing the hyphen in recent years reflects that one can be both, something I didn’t realize was possible growing up.”
A college junior year abroad in Kyoto, Japan, allowed her to reconnect with her Asian heritage. “It was the first time I’d spent a long period in an Asian country since leaving Korea,” Easton said.
Her internal struggles and travels abroad shaped her perspective and, ultimately, her book. The process of writing “White Mulberry,” which began over a decade ago as a nonfiction family memoir, has been both challenging and healing. “I had to reach down deep into my childhood to remember what it was like to feel like an outsider, that you didn’t belong,” Easton said.
While her grandmother’s life circumstances differed from her own, Easton found common ground in feeling marginalized.
Her debut novel brings a mix of excitement and trepidation. “I’m learning you can’t do everything, but you have to tell yourself you’re doing the best you can,” she said.
“I’ve always looked for a Korean female protagonist in books, and when I couldn’t find them, I wrote one for myself.”
“I hope readers are moved by the story and find themselves in the pages.”
Jennifer Townsend started writing alongside Easton in 2017 through a Palos Verdes Library District writing program. “We are invested in each other and our stories, providing feedback in writing discussions—it has become the language of our friendship.
“Rosa is dedicated to helping others through her storytelling. She wants others to discover their own stories and heal and broaden. She has gone to great lengths to do this—not only writing a book but serving as a trustee at the Palos Verdes Library District, where she is involved in policy making to ensure library services are available to everyone. She is keeping the power of story alive for future generations.”
Easton’s writing led her to reassess parenting and the expectations she placed on her children. Her son pursued a traditional route in finance, while her daughter is studying to be a fashion designer after earning a Columbia University degree.
“A lot of my parenting process has been letting go of the pressure to conform and people-pleasing,” she said. Easton said she spent most of her life trying to meet society’s expectations and appease her parents. After raising children and celebrating a milestone birthday, she decided, “That’s enough. I’ve done this for too long and it doesn’t serve me anymore.”
“Focusing on myself and my needs has been a hard bridge to cross because I grew up living for others. Now I’m discovering who I really am,” she said.
The Malaga Cove Library will host a book launch for “White Mulberry”on Sunday, December 15, at 3 p.m. The Malaga Cove Library is at 2400 Via Campesina, Palos Verdes Estates. Pen
