Author Description

What if the most profound love of your life had four paws, a silken coat, and the quiet wisdom of the universe in her gaze? Like a Dream, Like an Illusion: Joo Joo Cat's Diary is not just a memoir-it's a delicate conversation between memory and art, loss and healing. In this intimate account, author Sophie Joo invites you into a world where time folds in on itself, where a single life-small enough to fit in two hands-leaves an imprint vast enough to shape an entire world. When Joo Joo Cat, a fragile Persian kitten, first entered Sophie's life, she brought with her something quietly extraordinary: the ability to make the ordinary feel sacred. Through seasons of joy and quiet companionship, and later through heartbreak and absence, their story unfolds in quiet, reflective moments. Yet, it is after loss that Sophie finds herself returning-not to despair-but to art. Using the ancient techniques of Korean folk painting, she brings Joo Joo Cat back into being, one careful brushstroke at a time. This is not a story of moving on, but of moving deeper-into memory, meaning, and the spaces love leaves behind. Sophie's prose glides between nostalgia and revelation, gently asking: how do we honor the lives that shaped us, even after they slip beyond reach? Her answer is both simple and profound-by creating, by remembering, and by continuing the conversation. For readers who find comfort in the quiet companionship of animals, who understand how grief can be both sharp and soft, and for those drawn to the meditative rhythm of art as healing, Like a Dream, Like an Illusion offers solace without sentimentality. It is a tender meditation on love that endures, and the subtle, luminous ways we keep those we cherish close, long after they're gone.