Kissing Outside the Lines

The book is about actress Diane Farr meeting, getting engaged to and marrying Seung Yong, a Korean-American. As you could've guessed there is conflict, particularly from Seung's side of the family. It generally hits the right amount of drama and lighthearted moments and Diane is predictably great at recounting these moments between her and Seung's family.However I am sorry to say I didn't enjoy the interludes where Diane interviewed other interractial couples (whom she got in contact with from her friends). While I can understand why she felt the need to include these I just felt like it detracted from the far more interesting story of Diane's romance with Seung. I also wished that Seung's POV could've somehow be included in this memoir. Being a asian male myself I would've liked to have known his feelings on dating a white woman (a actress no less) considering all the stereotypes about asian men in America.Finally I didn't like the cover as I felt it didn't convey what the book was about. Why not a nice photo of Diane and Seung on the cover.Overall though I enjoyed the book and hope Diane writes another one, maybe about raising interracial kids?

As an Asian American male, I'm very interested in race relations and how this plays out in the dating scene. While this isn't a guide to interracial dating, it is a very personal account of one woman's experience with it, interspersed with a few other stories of interracial dating. If you're expecting a book that breaks down statistics and delves deep into the psyche of how interracial couples work, you're not going to get it here. However, you will get a small sample size of different stories and the author's own personal stories, some of which are funny, some of which are poignant. I don't see this as a typical experience of interracial dating (if there is such a thing), but definitely is an interesting perspective on the subject.It was a quick read for me and made me think about some things I hadn't thought about before, which is always a good thing for me in a book.

I am a big fan of Diane Farr; I especially enjoyed her work in “Num3ers” TV series. The book starts well enough, but as so many autobiographies do, it sort of bogs down a bit after a while. What really got my attention was her description of her attraction to the Korean man she married. It brought to mind a flight I made during the Viet Nam war. We were tasked to return a unit of Korean Marines from Nah Trang to Seoul. The discipline these warriors demonstrated was impressive, all were very manly, and many extremely handsome. None of my crew spoke Korean, so we had a Korean Airlines stewardess aboard to interpret. Midway in the flight I went into the cabin and found this Korean girl leading these warriors in singing gentle Korean folk songs. Many of these fierce men had tears in their eyes. Yep, I can see Diane falling for Seung Chung.

I read this book chiefly because I greatly appreciated the skill Diane Farr showed in creating the character Megan Reeves for Numb3rs which I started watching in its entirety online. I don't expect to be in her situation at my age. And I admit that not having seen her in anything else, her written words are colored by that persona, but that doesn't really diminish the importance her message.We are in a pivotal time in our national history. How we face the globalization of our world will influence our successes going forward. One result of globalization and reduced cultural expectations is cross-racial marriage. After reading her book I found that I didn't really see race so much as what separates us, but culture. It seems to me skin color is not what actually defines our unique perspectives, but rather our historical adaptation to what at one point was physical separation from one another. That race is part of that is inevitable as people have chosen skin color as the symbol of other differences. But one only has to remember the holocaust of WWII, Bosnian and Serbian genocide, or ethnic murders in Africa to see race is only the most obvious way in which people attempt to distinguish themselves from others.Yet the truth is, we are all much the same, in our pettiness and in our nobility.

I used to read voraciously when I was young and now that I've transitioned into the adult world... finding books that resonate with me and not just my wild imagination is hard to do. This book did just that and made me laugh, cry, get angry, and cheer for these amazing men and women who have fought the good fight for love.I was able to really sink into this book as a white woman about to marry a Korean man and it was a quick and engaging read. I had only one complaint... the Epilogue got a bit wordy in the middle but is worth pushing through because the closing left me beaming!

Ms. Farr's book is a quick read and discusses race in a way rarely found. Her personal experience as an Italian/Irish American married to a Korean American is just one part of the story. She interviewed multi-racial couples and multi-ethnic couples and detailed the struggles and challenges of such unions. By doing so she makes them human, not just a statistic. The book is both sad and hilarious at the same time. Ms. Farr talks about her own shortcomings and the shortcomings of the people closest to her while at the same time showing their evolution. It's a very thought provoking read for any age, race, or religion. I highly recommend this book.

I wish I would have read this book six months ago. I've been dating a Chinese man now for over a year and we are getting married in a few months. For the first time in my life I am in an interracial relationship where I am not the only ethnic one (I am Mexican). Meeting my beloved's parents was a very similar dance to what Diane Farr went through with Seung's parents. I have a lot to learn about Asian culture and this book helped me have a little bit better understanding than I did before.

Great read and an interesting look into modern interracial relationships. Diane presents a fair view of give and take between having to balance her personal boundaries and cultural boundaries when dating across races. Hope for the best for those two!

it was well protected but took a very long time to get it. but im glad to have it now thanks