Summary

In Chapter 11, Christine recalled that she and her parents and her younger brother Richard often went hiking in the San Gabriel Mountains near their home. Her brother “bounded up on light bunny feet” (159) and her parents considered it a stroll, but Christine sweated and vomited as she struggled to keep up. Her parents berated her for being out of shape. Christine pushed herself, but it never got easier. Her parents told her about walking to Seoul during the Korean war. Those who did not keep up wound up separated from their families. They pointed out a birthmark on Christine's wrist, reminding Richard that he could identify her with that mark if they were ever separated by war. While a friend (whose family was held in a Japanese internment camp) laughed at that story because “The war is so over” (161), Christine and Richard were...