Dreams of Home

Grace Kawakami lives in paradise-at least that’s what they call Hawaii in 1941. But hell breaks loose in paradise on December 7, when Japan bombs Pearl Harbor and Grace’s world turns upside down. Her mother, a nurse, is called to work at the hospital. Her brother, Tom, is called to serve with his ROTC unit. And her father is taken away by the authorities. Grace is alone with only herself to depend on.Perhaps most frightening of all is that her brother, Richie, is trapped in Japan and can’t come home. And, since all the Kawakami children are dual citizens, Richie may be drafted into the Japanese army. Could it really be that Grace’s two brothers might end up fighting each other?She’s scared, uncertain and confused. All she can hope is that love will bring her family back together again...because all she has left are dreams of home.

Growing up in the San Fernando Valley in Southern California was, for me, idyllic. It was a time before stories of smog, drugs, gangs, terrorists, E.coli, corporate greed, or identity theft were in the news every night. I walked to and from school with my friends, and played dodge ball, hopscotch and jacks during recess. At home we played hide and seek, kick the can, and hit the bat. TV and movies had no ratings and lyrics to songs were easily discernible. My father was a great story teller; so much so that often, we could only distinguish one of his tall tales from the truth by the dimples that appeared even without his smile. He and my mother encouraged my growing imagination and ultimately, I too became a story teller, but on paper. Sometimes those stories were short, sometimes long, and sometimes they appeared as limericks or haiku. Although I still write in all those forms, my favorite is probably the mid-length novel. My first book, Pueblo Summer, was written after I spent a vacation on a pueblo in New Mexico. I fell in love with the slow pace, the beautiful people, the wonderful traditions and the delicious food. My sister-in-law was married to a Pueblo Indian and they both read and edited the Cloud Dancer books for accuracy and the observance of Pueblo tradition. Dreams of Home was conceived after a friend’s grandmother told me stories of how she arrived, as a new bride, in Hawaii in the summer of 1941. That was the first time I’d ever imagined what it must have been like for young adults to live through the war years. My college roommate was a Japanese-American from Hawaii, and after her parents shared with me many of their memories of that time, I decided to write the book from their viewpoint. Again, I had a Japanese friend edit it to ensure, as much as possible, an accurate representation of the traditions of that culture. In each book I have placed characters in real settings, and have attempted to remain true to those particular times and places. I hope you enjoy the mix of fiction and fact that I have incorporated into my work.