Book review - Coming Alive on the Ride

Coming Alive on the Ride by Michael Yang is a memoir that offers ample food for thought about experiencing joy, exploring the tradeoffs of ambition, and finding community.

Yang immigrated from Korea to the U.S. as a teenager, and this book weaves together three parts of his life: his Korean heritage, motorcycle touring, and his career and entrepreneurial ventures in Silicon Valley.

Shinnage describes the delight of children playing. This sense of joy carries through the book.

Early in the book, Yang references three Korean concepts that subtly carry through the narrative. Shinnage is the activity or state of whole absorption in an undertaking. Han is accumulated cultural trauma brought about from injustice and oppression. Hongik is about conducting oneself in ways that benefit humanity. Riding a motorcycle is how Yang experiences shinnage, and through his engagement with his family’s history and his own ambition, Han falls away. Hongik appears in the many kindnesses strangers bestow upon Yang, his attention to faith, the rejuvenation he feels while expanding his horizons, and the lessons he brings to his homelife.

I appreciated the accessible way Yang introduced these Korean concepts in the story, and I was most drawn in by the parts of his book about his immigrant experience, including a chapter on Korean history and the backstory of his family’s experience. The book’s structure alternates chapters of Yang’s motorcycle adventures, which began when he was 57, with his immigrant and career story. About halfway into the book, the motorcycle adventure and immigrant story take a back seat to narrative about Yang’s career and entrepreneurial endeavors. While this content about Silicon Valley before the dot com bubble burst surprised me, I found myself carried by the narrative, wondering how everything would play out.

Yang had some classic adventure mishaps on his motorcycle tours and met some memorable characters that endeared me to these chapters of the book. He gets caught in cold rain and makes it to a rest area restroom where he warms himself under hand dryers. Another time, he arrives at the only lodging establishment in the area, which is full for the night, and happily settles for a makeshift arrangement in a shed. He encounters people who help him in many ways: getting his motorcycle unstuck and providing lodging, meals, conversation and camaraderie.

Yang’s traveling companion and long-time friend, Karl, is a wonderful foil, and I loved the dynamic between these two men. In this respect, the book offers a touching exploration of masculinity.

Karl and Michael begin their friendship in a college Taekwondo class where each attempts to assert his right for respect through skill, strength, and age. Karl wins a physical test; Michael is one month older. When they’re in their late 50s, Karl introduces Michael to multi-day motorcycle touring, reacquainting Michael with shinnage. Karl reminds Michael to dial back his mileage ambitions – life is a journey, not a race to get to the next destination or the next milestone.

For me, the core lessons of the book emerge from the friendship between these two men and respond to the questions: What makes life feel meaningful? What does it mean to live while you’re alive?

Yang lives a fascinating life, and I recommend this book to readers interested in a considered masculine perspective on any of the three main topics he covers: motorcycle touring, Korean heritage and immigration, and the Silicon Valley scene in the 80s and 90s.

Thank you to PR by the Book for this Advance Reader’s Copy.