The Essential Story

(August 2018)

WRITING WEDNESDAY: I had one essential story that I wanted to tell before I died–how the atomic bomb touched people like my Japanese American family. Through my Mas Arai mystery series, I feel that I completed this mission. So now what? Through nonfiction and journalism pieces, I’ve been committed to tell the stories of Japanese Americans, whose existence and histories were in danger of being completely erased during World War II. I know that in some ways, this is a narrow interest but it’s a deep one. Being a young baby boomer, I feel that I can clasp hands with the ones who are now gone but who I knew well and those born after the 1980s. For me, I know that I’m most aligned with my writing mission when I’m not fixated on fame and fortune (but still financial sustainability is still important!) but more on my purpose.