Left-handed pianist Lee Hoon-i
Hope to write with one hand and speak with the whole body

“The disease has taken over my body”

One day, something shocking happens to a musician who was living a happy life, considering the piano as his life's companion.
Stroke, emergency transfer, major surgery to remove 60% of the left brain.
After ten days in a coma, he finally woke up, but what awaited him was the desperate reality of paralysis on the right side of his body and speech impediment.

“My life couldn’t be knocked down.”

Lee Hoon, who was a promising pianist, became a baby again at the age of forty.
One day, when recovery was slow despite arduous rehabilitation treatment and he was unable to perform even basic daily tasks on his own, let alone play the piano, his teacher said:

“Hoon, do you want to try playing the piano with only your left hand?”
It was one word that changed him.

He approached rehabilitation and piano practice with an indomitable spirit, and finally began to create miracles on the keyboard.
As a left-handed pianist.

“I am writing a miracle on the keyboard right now.”

This book is not a simple hospital journal, but a narrative of human triumph that shows how faith becomes reality.
In the book, Lee Hoon candidly records his school days when he loved the piano more than anyone else, the illness that thwarted his bright life, the time of loss he experienced when half of his body became paralyzed, the difficult journey of rehabilitation and overcoming, the positive thinking and faith that sustained him along the way, and the people he is grateful for who filled the other half of his body and mind, allowing him to overcome adversity and start a second life.


Beginning with his first performance in a hospital lobby after becoming a left-handed pianist, we encounter countless moving moments on stage that have touched the hearts of audiences, and ponder where the strength to hold on to life comes from.
His attitude resonates as a melody of hope and gratitude to all of us who live our lives in various ways, sometimes joyfully and sometimes difficultly.

Even if you live quietly and faithfully, you may sometimes face days of pain and sighs, big and small, whose depth cannot be measured.
It is not a punishment, nor is it a time for reflection that should be taken.
It's just one aspect of life that we, as humans, can never quite grasp.
--- p.20

not.
Hello.
under.
count.
yo. this.
These five-letter greetings were the signal that I had returned to the world.
--- p.43

I couldn't move my right arm, and I couldn't put strength into my right leg.
At first, the limp, drooping arms and gnarled fingers felt so unfamiliar that it felt like something 'other', something beyond my control, was attached to my body.
I tried touching it gently and pinching it gently, but I couldn't feel anything at all.

What I was most afraid of was not being able to speak.
--- p.45

Life was going in a completely different direction than I had planned or anticipated.
If so, the future also becomes unknowable.
So perhaps acknowledging the futility of trying to get everything to go my way somehow was a more important task than having a thorough and detailed plan.
If so, then I should live willingly and happily.
All I had to do was relax, be grateful for the people around me, and rely on the flow of time and seasons.
--- p.53

Yeah, everything will be okay.
Thanks to these good people, I was able to survive and not die.
So, no matter how you live or what you do in the future, you will be able to live well.
I promised myself as if reciting a spell.
--- p.64

I was thrilled by the sound of the piano and the sensation of the keys on my left hand, something I hadn't experienced in months.
It wasn't a thrilling or hot sensation.
Rather, it was a calm and solemn feeling, as if sinking into a sea of ​​silence.
It was a comfort that came after making a life-changing decision, a lightness that came from letting go, a calm that prevented me from being shaken arbitrarily.

Ironically, it was only in that feeling that I felt I could finally part ways with the piano.
--- p.76

Did you know there are over a thousand pieces for the left hand? You can do it.
“Let’s do it, Hoon.”
There was power in the teacher's voice.
It was a conviction, not a wish or an expectation.
--- p.109

The training process was incredibly difficult.
My brain function was deteriorating, so I couldn't memorize music, and my fingers couldn't keep up with my mind.
Sitting slanted on the chair and pedaling made it difficult to keep my body in check, and as my body's center of gravity collapsed, cracks appeared in the harmony of the song.
There were times when I was greatly shaken by all these problems at once, but I constantly encouraged and cared for myself so that I would not be consumed by them.
--- p.113

I was grateful to be alive, and even more grateful that I could move my left hand and play the piano in front of an audience again.
--- p.120

As a left-handed pianist, I have both received and given much comfort from others.
Memorizing sheet music is still difficult, and there are still so many hurdles to overcome.
However, I will continue to practice and work hard in the future to share greater comfort with more people.
--- p.134

My mother did not despair.
Rather, I thought that it was the love that I couldn't give when I was young that I was giving to you after time had passed.
How did you feel when you suddenly had to take care of your son at a time when you should have been free to travel and enjoy your hobbies after raising your children?
--- p.154

As a left-handed pianist, I have concerns I never had before.
In the past, I was focused on how to make people fall in love with my performance with flashy techniques, but now I am deeply concerned about how to convey my sincerity to the audience and how to make the audience understand my feelings.
--- p.162

I learned a great deal from Leon Fleischer and other left-handed pianists.
That we shouldn't be discouraged or get on our knees because we can't play with both hands, that we shouldn't pity those who can only play with one hand, but rather do our best to play more beautifully, whether with one or both hands.
--- p.166

Now I try to face every situation calmly.
My positive personality has been a great help in overcoming the accident, surgery, and difficult rehabilitation.
Tomorrow may be a different pain, but I will look forward to the next day, hoping for another good thing.

--- p.171