My Grandmother’s Grandchildren with Esther Yumi Ko
Esther was born in New Jersey and forged in New York City. She was diagnosed in 2019 at 32 with triple positive metastatic breast cancer. She likes to remind people that everyone is dying. Esther is a writer and photographer. Some of the recurring topics in her life and in her writing include travel, ghosts and monsters, physics as poetry, multivalence, and mortality. She gets a big kick out of bilingual puns and inappropriate jokes about her own trauma.
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My Grandmother’s Grandchildren
What does it mean to still be here when so much has been lost?
In this episode of The Burn, writer and photographer Esther Yumi Ko reads her essay, “My Grandmother’s Grandchildren,” on grandmothers, memory, mortality, family, and the complicated space between surviving and mourning.
Esther was diagnosed with Stage IV triple positive breast cancer at 32 in 2019. Her story moves through generations of cancer and loss, and toward one quiet, profound question: Who are we to the people we love when memory begins to blur?
This is a story about generational loss. A family shaped by cancer, silence, and love. About standing in the in-between space where identity blurs—a granddaughter and substitute, survivor and mourner, living and dying all at the same time.
And it's about what remains when names slip away. About the quiet, radical fact of still being present.
Writing Prompts Inspired by Today’s Episode
Set your timer for eight minutes, write without stopping or editing yourself. There is magic in leaning into that time. The prompt is:
I am still here.
We're drawing this prompt from Esther's essay, circling around identity, memory, and the complicated truth of being one of the ones still here. I invite you to write about a moment when you became aware of your own continued presence, especially in the context of loss.
If you find that you write best with a good prompt, check out our free prompts and learn about our writing workshops.
Happy writing! Until next time, take good care.
Episode Links
Read a transcript of this episode.
Purchase the 2025 “MBC: Paradox” issue of Wildfire Journal.
More about our episode sponsor: iRise Above Foundation
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