“Your mother will be with you in spirit on all your journeys.”

As a mother watches the back of her child as he sets out on his own for the first time, her heart is filled with words she cannot bring herself to say.
It is because I am afraid that all those worries, concerns, words of advice and prayers might become shackles that tie the child's ankles or a burden that weighs down his shoulders.
But knowing full well that life's journey cannot always be like a warm spring day, I force myself to swallow the words that are about to spill out as I send my child off.

The child leaves the house, saying, “I’ll be back!” in a loud voice.
But you might feel intimidated by the new environment.
A mother sends her heartfelt support to such a child.
“Everything might feel unfamiliar at first.
You might feel your heart shrink at the sight of an unfamiliar landscape.
Everyone is like that at first.
At times like that, raise your eyes and look at the sky.
“Mom will be looking at the same sky as you,” he said.


Don't forget to provide a place for your child to retreat.
“There will be times when you just want to come back.
“You can come back when that happens.” However, this does not mean that the child’s tantrums are completely tolerated.
“But there are some sights that you have to endure a little to see.
“I hope you don’t miss it.” The mother’s words gently caress the child’s back like a spring breeze.


It also gives the child some breathing room so that he or she doesn't feel like he or she is being chased by others and keeps up with their pace.
“How about going back a bit?
There's no need to rush.
There are things you can see if you go slowly.
“When you come across a landscape that lingers in your heart, it’s okay to take a break.”


And I urge you not to forget that your child has not walked alone for even a moment.
Because along every twist and turn of the path the child has walked and will walk, there have been and will be people who have helped the child, whether the child knows it or not.
My mother's last words to me were, "Remember.
If we go together, we can go further.
That is why it is said, “We can go all the way if we go together.”


“My miracle, cheering for your future…….”

Exactly 10 years ago, author Choi Sook-hee published "You Are a Miracle," a heartwarming confession from a mother to her son, the greatest gift in her life, and to all children around the world.
The boy who shyly returned the confession, “It is a miracle that you are my child,” to his mother’s passionate confession, “It was you who created that miracle,” has now grown up and become an adult.


"To You Who Are Leaving" begins with the last scene of the book "You Are a Miracle."
If the previous book was about looking back on the time spent together before sending a child out into the world and being grateful for every moment, this book beautifully captures a mother's worries, concerns, requests, and wishes for what her child will face as he or she goes out into the world.


In this book, author Choi Sook-hee transforms the countless words that mothers cannot bring themselves to say into her own loving and comfortable language to tell children.
Words like the spring sunshine that brightly illuminates a child's path ahead, words like the spring breeze that gently caresses a child's back.


The 'mother's words' contained in this book are also the words the author wanted to hear at every twist and turn of life.
I carefully selected and included the words that I thought would have made my feet, shoulders, and heart feel a little lighter if someone had said these words to me back then.
I hope that this will be heard not as a mother's nagging, but as encouragement and support from someone who has walked the path ahead of the children.
As the author wishes, I hope this book will provide warm encouragement and support to all children taking their first steps into a new world.