About Me — Kyomi O’Connor

5 min readFeb 4, 2021

San Diego. Author/Writer. Universalist. Japanese Immigrant. Peace Maker. Life-time Student. Practicing Buddhist. Children’s dentist. Believer and Activist of Love, Hope, Courage & Potentials.

Hello, and thank you for visiting my “About Me” page!

My name is Kyomi O’Connor. You may be thinking, What a unique name! Yes, it’s a combination of Japanese, me, and my late husband’s Irish last name. I am a memoir writer. My memoir: A sky of Infinite Blue- A Japanese Immigrant’s Search for Home and Self, published in September 2022, is the story of my lifelong struggles and a path to finding Self and the wholeness in my life.

Please follow me and visit me on my Webpage, https://kyomioconnor.com.

BIO

I was my Japanese parents’ middle daughter. From the time I was little, I was conscious of and often traumatized by what was going on in and outside my world. I developed a strong sense of justice, freedom, and humanity. My childhood dream was to become a journalist and have an independent life. But a twist of fate led me to become a dentist and researcher.

In 1990, I came to the States to work as a post-doctoral researcher at the present National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD. I left my past in Japan but wouldn’t tell anyone in my new life about my past struggles.

Within one and a half months of my arrival, I met my destiny: Patrick, a charismatic English cancer researcher with Irish heritage. It was love at first sight, and he became my oasis, the primary source of healing for a while. Gradually, my new American life was shaping me into a more practical, resilient person.

Patrick and I changed our careers and moved to San Diego for his job in February 1998. I built a pediatric dental practice in the indigenous American Indian community and maintained that practice for over fifteen years. During those years and I am still, Patrick and I practiced the Buddhist teachings, grew together through our daily hardships, lived a wonderful life, and became partners and the best-est friends.

In the summer of 2013, Patrick suddenly fell ill. He was diagnosed with stage IV metastatic melanoma in the brain. After our super high-speed roller-coaster rides and a fierce battle against his illness, Patrick passed away on Independence Day in 2016.

At his deathbed, I had no sense of time or space. Nothing was left; everything became rubble. In the months that followed, I lived a spiritless life, capable only of managing daily logistics and responsibilities.

One year after Patrick’s passing, I returned to my writing. It became my spiritual practice. At each excavation into the wreckage of my life, I cried and moaned aloud — but little by little, chisel mark by chisel mark, tear by tear, I became a human again. Then truths began to come out. The writing I did as this happened was a work of pain, tears, and blood. Through these painful excavations, I came to accept what had happened and what hadn’t happened in my early life. Acceptance brought me peace and to find my Self again and returned light to my life.

That’s how my book was created.

Now I live a great life, full of light and happiness, engaged with all five of my senses, as well as my emotions and energy. I live with my two soon-to-be eleven-year-old short-hair tabbies cats, Tommy (boy) and Omi (girl).

I love lots of things in my life — cooking, baking, photography, traveling (though not so much now during the pandemic), walking, yoga, Tai Chi, Chi Gong, arranging flowers, listening to music, going to theaters, reading and writing, Buddhist chanting, and meditation, etc. I am curious about anything having to do with our human lives, art, culture, activism, politics… whatever is good and right for humanity, hope, and love.

I love life and sharing goodness with fellow humans.

My Desires

I want to share my story, life, hope, love, and light with everyone I can. Since my childhood, I have had this strong, unstoppable desire to help anyone with difficulties come out of the darkness and find their own way to the light. If my book and my writing become an aide for anyone to find hope, comfort, and courage, that will make me the happiest.

Examples of My Writing

Below I’ve listed some of my published (and soon-to-be-published!) writing.
Please visit me for more: http://MEDIUM.com@kyomioconnor

o My Memoir: A Sky of Infinite Blue— A Japanese Immigrant’s Search for Home and Self was published in September 2022.

MEDIUM POSTS: A few examples of my essays are below.

Let’s Begin, May 12, 2022
Transparency in Our Life, Jan 13
The Swing, Dec 7, 2021
Love — Our Common Ground, Oct 6, 2021
How Opioids Affected My Life — Personal Story III, July 8, 2021
This Is Kyomi 京未, June 29, 2021
Out of Africa, April 26, 2021
Healing, April 5, 2021
Tidying Up, March 23, 2021

MEDIUM POETRY: Some of my favorites from the newly explored horizon

Thank you very much again for visiting my page.
I hope to share more inspirational moments with you!

About Me — Kyomi O’Connor

Written by Kyomi O'Connor