You did well, you are doing well, and you will do well (Fully Revised Edition Celebrating 500,000 Copies Sold)

Author Jeong Young-wook · Publisher Bookrum · Published 2021-05-14 · ISBN 9791162143605

About the Book

Selected as one of '10 Books for the 21st Century'
Selected as '2020's Best Sentence'
Reborn as a fully revised edition to commemorate 500,000 copies sold
From the unparalleled essayist Jeong Young-wook
Warm encouragement and comfort with a blue-green sensibility

There are days like that. Days that feel like a whirlwind from morning till night. Days when you open the front door and enter your home, and your legs give out, feeling a vague sense of loss. When there's no one to talk to, and no one to listen, and all you can do is wait for your sunken mood to improve, what was it that we needed most? Even if we faced an unkind world, if we could keep a kind and warm sentence in a corner of our hearts to comfort ourselves, we might find a little more strength. We could soothe ourselves from the hardships of today and find the courage to face tomorrow.

A revised edition commemorating 500,000 copies of "You Did Well, That Was Enough," "Practicing to Love Myself," and "Calmly Yet Firmly"—the representative work of author Jeong Young-wook, who has established himself as a bestselling essayist—has been released. The blue-green cover reflects the author's unique mature writing style. Entirely new sentences and 9 unreleased manuscripts also await you. Following stories of acceptance that you, who have worked so hard, are radiant just as you are, there's gentle advice that loving yourself also requires practice, and comfort that affirms and soothes your past, present, and future. Jeong Young-wook's encouragement is always directed at you.

"But I can say this. Even if things aren't going well, it's okay to say that they will. If our lives are prone to collapse even when nothing is wrong, then there are certainly lives where, even as they collapse, you can say, 'Things are going well, as if nothing is wrong.'"

Don't let present anxieties lead to fear for the future. You are not lacking in any way to achieve something. It's just that today was a bit difficult; the hazy times will eventually pass. A clear future will arrive, making the unseen path seem vivid, and you will undoubtedly be standing there, having overcome everything. Because you are that kind of person.

When I see those who are just enduring, I feel both admiration and deep pity. It's okay not to push yourself so hard. I know the anxious and impatient feelings, but I worry that you might eventually get exhausted, collapse, or be unable to hold on. To you, who appears stronger than anyone on the outside but actually carries a delicate heart, here is one book that cherishes that heart.

It's okay, everything is okay.
Words like a spell to comfort you.
"You Did Well, You Are Doing Well, You Will Do Well"

Table of Contents

Foreword · 6

1.
I have cheered, I am cheering, and
I will cheer

Comfort Without Reason · 20
Satellite · 22
When Life Feels Like It's Against You
Things to Remember · 25
What It Means to Live Well · 30
To My Greatest Enemy · 32
You Are Clearly Doing Well · 34
Knowledge is Darkness · 37
On Loving Myself · 40
Ahead · 43
Even When You Want to Feel Better
But You Can't · 46
Waves and Ordeals · 51
Things I Learned After Turning 30 · 52
Like a Giraffe's Neck · 55
To Avoid Getting Hurt · 57
Understanding the World Makes One Fear Happiness · 58
Unrecognized but
Things That Steadfastly Maintain My Life · 61
The Time When I Like Myself · 64
Wanting to Be Alone But Not Wanting to Be Lonely · 65
Unconditional Comfort Offered to You · 66
Folding the Heart · 69
Good Things to Remember When Your Heart Feels Stuffy · 71
The Miraculous Wind of Passing Blows · 77
Things I Didn't Know Before But Know Now · 80
Though I Don't Remember Your Voices · 83
Happy Ending · 85
The Swamp of Painful Memories · 88
To You, Who Is Someone's Light and Someone's Ocean · 91

2.
We have been together, we are together, and
we will be together

Relationships Are Like Plants · 98
Though People May Not Change, Relationships Do · 100
No Relationship Lasts Forever · 102
My View on Human Relationships to Protect Myself · 104
A Smart Way to Avoid Emotional Drain · 108
To You Who Can't Sleep · 111
People Whose Mood Becomes Their Attitude · 114
The True Worth of a Person · 115
Someone I Never Want to Meet Again · 116
The Person I'm With Now Is My Future · 119
Common Traits of People Who Maintain Relationships for a Long Time · 124
If You're Going to Do It, Do It Right · 127
Here Is Someone With the Courage to Refuse
And Someone Who Refused Because the Bond Was Strong · 128
You Have to Speak for Others to Know · 133
May the Familiarity of a Relationship Be Its Maturity · 136
The Heart Is a Gift · 139
We Are All Finite Beings in Every Aspect · 142
Not 'If it were me' but 'Even if it were me' · 146
Things Gradually Felt in a Busy World · 148
Somewhere There's a Sentence That Lifts You Up · 155
I Want to Go to the Sea · 158

3.
I have loved, I am loving, and
it will be love

When Foolish Hearts Meet Foolish Hearts · 166
Not a Seemingly Good Person, But Someone Who Approached You That Way · 169
To You Who Suffered in Love and Relationships · 171
Proof of a Truly Good Person · 174
Still, But, Nevertheless · 175
The Shape of Us · 177
An Everyday but Most
Ideal Person Who Makes Your Day · 179
Loving Is Like Breathing · 183
Feelings I Want to Convey in a Letter to My Loved One · 185
A Good Season for Love · 188
More 'Thank You' Than 'I'm Sorry' · 191
Love Is Putting the Other Person Before Yourself · 193
Someone You Want to Keep By Your Side · 195
♥ · 197
Someone I Gave Everything To But Couldn't Hold On To · 199
That Might Not Have Been Love · 201
It's a Matter of the Heart · 203
Loneliness as Love · 205
To Fulfill Love's Purpose · 207
Each Other's Last Appearance · 210
Is Love an Understanding of the Past? · 214
The Saddest Thing After Breaking Up With Someone You Loved · 215
Even If It's Pointless Now
There Are Things That Have Already Become Precious · 217
Why Did You Break Up With Them? · 220

4.
I have overcome, I am overcoming, and
I will overcome

The Only Difference Is Everything · 226
Find Myself · 231
Ideal and Reality · 233
Words That Hold Me Firm When I Waver · 234
I'll Leave It to My Tomorrow Self · 239
A Once-in-a-Lifetime Day · 241
Moments When Time Felt So Fast · 244
My Very Front · 246
We Live Like Imperfect Chairs · 247
Proof That You're Becoming an Adult · 251
Young-wook, You Must Remember This · 255
Mom Must Have Been a Mom for the First Time Too · 256
What It Means to Be Owned by Someone · 258
Mom's Doenjang-jjigae · 260
Things You Realize While Living Alone · 261
A Day I Want to Break Down · 267
Moments I Regretted Looking Back · 268
At the Same Temperature, Some Get Warm
While Others Get Chilly · 271
I Did It · 276
Live Well, That's the Best Revenge · 278
I Am Becoming · 281
There Are Things I Didn't Know
When I Was in My Prime Youth · 284
Because It's the Darkest
Possessing the Courage to Be the Kindest · 287
Can You Be Happy Doing What You Want? · 291
I Support Your Attempts · 295

Closing · 298