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Springfield Sisters Featured at 'Fall for the Book' Thursday

Frances and Ginger Park discuss their new memoir at Burke Centre Library.

“There are four basic food groups: milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, and chocolate truffles.” Anonymous 

If chocolate is the basis of your food pyramid, you can't miss Chocolate Chocolate: The True Story of Two Sisters, Tons of Treats, and the Little Shop That Could, by local authors Frances and Ginger Park.

The Park sisters co-own the popular D.C. shop Chocolate Chocolate—a Washington Post editor's pick—and together have co-authored nine books inspired by their Korean American heritage.

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Chocolate, Chocolate is their latest book and first memoir. It chronicles their lives after the death of their father in 1979.  Grief stricken, the Park sisters, with their mother as a silent partner, opened a chocolate shop.  It has thrived for the past twenty seven years.

“It was a seamless transition from writing fiction to memoir," said Ginger Park.  "Even in fiction most authors will tell you that the characters, setting and story are in some way inspired by real life experiences."

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The sisters said the biggest challenge was opening up their personal lives to strangers.  "Then again, over the years, we’ve opened up our chocolate shop to strangers who've became good friends,” said Ginger.

The Park Sisters’ story epitomizes the American Dream.  Their parents Sei-Young and Heisook Park fled Korea in 1954 and came to the United States.

Their father came from a family of eight, was raised in a one-room mud hut, worked his way to Harvard, and then on to the World Bank.  In 1960 Sei-Young and Heisook bought their dream home in Springfield, Virginia, where they planned to raise their family.  Tragically Sei-Young died on a business trip, leaving the three women to pursue their own version of the American dream.

Frances and Ginger Park are seven years apart, yet acknowledge they are often mistaken as twins. They even finish each other’s thoughts.

In 1998 they wrote their first book, My Freedom Trip: A Child’s Escape From North Korea.  Of their journey from business owners to authors, Frances Park said, “We've always said we’re sisters and soul mates. Writing together is as natural as breaking chocolate.”

Frances and Ginger Park will speak at on Thursday, September 22, discussing their memoir at at 7 p.m.

Their children's books are:

The Royal Bee (2000)

Where on Earth is My Bagel (2001)

Good-Bye, 382 Shin Dang Dong (2002)

The Have a Good Day Cafe (2008)

My Freedom Trip (1998, 2010)

Their adult novels are:

Hotline Heaven (1998)

When My Sister Was Cleopatra Moon (2001)

To Swim Across the World (2002)

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One in a continuing series on how local residents are pursuing their version of the American Dream.

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