Author Jamil Jan Kochai tried for years to reconnect with his second grade teacher—a woman whom he credits with all the success he's had in life.

A young immigrant who didn't know any English, it was Mrs. Lung who stayed after hours every day in their Sacramento elementary school to teach Kochai one-on-one how to read and write—something she managed in just a year.

It was something Kochai never forgot, but after moving to new schools and districts, he lost track of her. The more Kochai's career grew with success, the more he felt he had to reconnect with the special teacher who kickstarted his life as an author.

After many years, he finally got to thank Mrs. Lung, after a friend brought her to one of Kochai's book readings.

"This is Susan Lung. She taught me to read and write in a single year when I was 7 years old," he wrote on Twitter. "I've been looking for Susan, hoping to thank her in person."

Let me tell you a story. This is Susan Lung. She taught me to read and write in a single year when I was 7 years old. I've been looking for Susan, hoping to thank her in person, for almost twenty years. And then she surprised me at my reading last night. pic.twitter.com/7YW2EPx1CO

— Jamil Jan Kochai (@JamilJanKochai) August 14, 2022

Let me tell you a story. This is Susan Lung. She taught me to read and write in a single year when I was 7 years old. I've been looking for Susan, hoping to thank her in person, for almost twenty years. And then she surprised me at my reading last night. pic.twitter.com/7YW2EPx1CO

It was more than ten years that Kochai had been looking for his former teacher, ten years where calling school districts, looking names and leads up on Google and social media, and visiting schoolhouses all proved fruitless.

He said he felt like a detective "running into another dead end," as he explained in a Twitter thread.

When I found this photo in an old box ten years ago, I almost lost my mind when I saw that Mrs. Lung's first name wasn't there! I felt like a detective running into another deadend. It was so frustrating!! pic.twitter.com/wUd4CKxguX

— Jamil Jan Kochai (@JamilJanKochai) August 15, 2022

When I found this photo in an old box ten years ago, I almost lost my mind when I saw that Mrs. Lung's first name wasn't there! I felt like a detective running into another deadend. It was so frustrating!! pic.twitter.com/wUd4CKxguX

"A few years earlier, after 99 Nights in Logar came out, someone reached out to me, out of the blue, on Facebook. It was Mrs. Lung's husband!" he continued. "Apparently, Allen Lung heard about an article I wrote for LitHub where I mentioned Mrs. Lung. He asked me if I wanted to speak with her that night."

They exchanged a phone call, but as it was during COVID-19 lockdowns, they decided not to meet face to face.

That moment finally came when, after years of turmoil and joyful events both in Kochai's professional and family life, he was doing a book reading/signing event for his new released The Haunting of Hajji Hotak – And Other Stories when "Mrs. Lung's husband, Allen, rushed up to me, introduced himself, and brought me over to Mrs. Lung, and seven-year-old-me finally got to hug my 2nd grade teacher again."

They caught up, he signed her copy with all the words he couldn't say, but which had been in his head and heart for a decade and more.

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