Each household has secrets and techniques.
A Japanese American household, separated by racism and the discrimination of individuals with developmental disabilities, are reunited 70 years later, returning to their roots on a farm and sure by secrets and techniques.
Natural peach and elevating farmer David Mas Masumoto’s new memoir, “Secret Harvests: A Hidden Story of Separation and the Resilience of a Household Farm” (Purple Hen Press, distributed by Ingram Writer Providers), follows a journey of discovering a “misplaced” aunt, who was separated from the household as a consequence of racism and discrimination in opposition to the disabled.
Aunt Shizuko had each psychological and bodily disabilities as a consequence of childhood meningitis. In 1942, when Govt Order 9066 was signed, authorizing the mass elimination of all individuals of Japanese descent off of the West Coast, her mother and father needed to make the excrutiating resolution between taking her with them into the World Battle II focus camp at Gila River in Arizona, or to put her as a “ward” of the state in an establishment.
Household lore had satisfied them that Aunt Shizuko had ultimately died, however 70 years later, she was discovered alive and residing a couple of miles from our household farm. How did she survive? Why was she stored hidden? How did each disgrace and resilience empower my household to forge ahead in a land that didn’t need them?
On this new memoir, Masumoto is haunted by these questions and pushed to discover his personal id and the which means of household — particularly as farmers tied to the land — uncovering tales that bind him to a way of historical past buried within the earth that he works and a way of place that defines his neighborhood.
Sansei author Masumoto teamed up with Yonsei artist Patricia Wakida for this exploration of neighborhood and household secrets and techniques and is out there for readings, lectures, and workshops starting in spring 2023. To schedule an occasion, e-mail patricia.wakida@gmail.com.
David Mas Masumoto is an natural farmer, writer, and activist. His e-book “Epitaph for a Peach” gained the Julia Baby Cookbook Award and was a finalist for a James Beard Award. His writing has been awarded a Commonwealth Membership of California silver medal and the Unbiased Writer Books bronze medal. He has been honored by Rodale Institute as an “Natural Pioneer.” He has served on the boards of the James Irvine Basis, Public Coverage Institute of California, Cal Humanities, and the Nationwide Council on the Arts with nomination by President Obama.
He farms together with his spouse Marcy and two grownup kids, Nikiko and Koro. They reside in a hundred-year-old farmhouse surrounded by their eightyacre natural peach, nectarine, apricot, and raisin farm outdoors of Fresno. For extra data, go to www.secretharvestsbook.com.
Linoleum block and letterpress artist Patricia Miye Wakida grew up in Fresno. Along with sustaining her personal linoleum block and letterpress studio beneath the wasabi press imprint, she often writes about Japanese American historical past and tradition. She is a Yonsei whose mother and father have been incarcerated as kids within the Jerome (Arkansas) and Gila River (Arizona) World Battle II focus camps. She lives in Oakland along with her husband and son, cats, and chickens. Her web site: www.wasabipress.com
Advance reward:
“Mas is really a poet-farmer – he writes tales like he tends to his peaches, every reminiscence cared for and dropped at life in such stunning, considerate element. This e-book is an immigrant story each very private to Mas and resonant with so many others around the globe, inspiring and heartbreaking, a narrative of household, historical past, reminiscence, and lifetimes of resilience.” — José Andrés, chef-activist and founding father of World Central Kitchen
“Secrets and techniques carry the heavy weight of disgrace however they’re additionally ready to be liberated. ‘Secret Harvests’ by David Mas Masumoto sheds gentle on an vital chapter in Japanese American incapacity historical past by unearthing his intergenerational household story. Society can attempt to bury the ugliness of sure truths however they’ve a manner of reaching towards the sunshine.” — Alice Wong, incapacity rights activist, author and founding father of Incapacity Visibility Mission
“Beautiful and haunting. Masumoto investigates the lifetime of a long-lost aunt and, within the course of, reveals a painful chapter from his circle of relatives’s historical past. ‘Secret Harvests’ is a deeply affecting meditation on loss and resilience and what we owe to these now we have forgotten. A heartbreaking memoir, written with readability and style, about how even the ‘least’ of us leaves behind an indelible mark on the world.” — Julie Otsuka, author and writer of “The Buddha within the Attic”
“Mas Masumoto masterfully weaves dramatic historical past with home tragedy right into a coherent, revealing complete. This ‘secret’ deserves critical pursuit.” — Lawson Fusao Inada, former poet laureate of Oregon and writer of “Legends from Camp” and “Drawing the Line”
