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4.24 AVERAGE
4.24 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
fast-paced
This is one of those books that's going to creep up on me as I sit with it. Remembering this story for what it is, one person's memoir, it presents a searingly honest tale of a life and learning to love. This story reflects the raw and complicated history of Okinawa, and an Okinawan American coming to understand all that means which is almost impossible to place between the covers of a book.
I picked up this book out of my own complicated love for Okinawa as an American, as a military spouse, and honestly, there were times I was frustrated that she didn't love and appreciate Okinawa as much as I do. But this memoir is also a progression of coming to love. I think Brina comes to see love and comes to love herself and her roots through writing her story and through multiple visits to Okinawa. Looking back, I can relate to her and her mother's alienation and loneliness that comes from feeling far from home. I share in that experience of coming to love Okinawa, and wrestling with it's complicated history in which I now take part.
I picked up this book because there aren't a lot of books about Okinawa, not outside of the non-fiction, historical, military history realm. So, I also appreciate what this book will hopefully do for understanding and growing library of allowing Okinawa to Speak.
I picked up this book out of my own complicated love for Okinawa as an American, as a military spouse, and honestly, there were times I was frustrated that she didn't love and appreciate Okinawa as much as I do. But this memoir is also a progression of coming to love. I think Brina comes to see love and comes to love herself and her roots through writing her story and through multiple visits to Okinawa. Looking back, I can relate to her and her mother's alienation and loneliness that comes from feeling far from home. I share in that experience of coming to love Okinawa, and wrestling with it's complicated history in which I now take part.
I picked up this book because there aren't a lot of books about Okinawa, not outside of the non-fiction, historical, military history realm. So, I also appreciate what this book will hopefully do for understanding and growing library of allowing Okinawa to Speak.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Check out my Book Reflection at Speak, Okinawa (thespinedown.com)
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
This is an amazing memoir. It’s so well written and I loved how the author wrote about the history of Okinawa.
I loved the growth and how her she tracks the relationship with her parents and her heritage. I highly recommend this memoir.
I loved the growth and how her she tracks the relationship with her parents and her heritage. I highly recommend this memoir.
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
I picked out Speak, Okinawa by Elizabeth Miki Brina from a long list of spring memoirs. I was completely riveted by the story of Elizabeth, who grew up pushing away her immigrant Okinawan mother and immersing herself in the world of her white American father. As she becomes an adult she begins to realize how lonely her mother must have been in this foreign country where she sometimes has difficulty being understood by her own child. I was particularly moved by the author’s realization that she had been given an American name that was impossible for her mother to easily pronounce.
Her inner struggle also plays out on a larger scale as the writer explores the continued American occupation of Okinawa, which I embarrassingly knew little about. A great read for anyone who enjoys reading stories about families and identity.
Her inner struggle also plays out on a larger scale as the writer explores the continued American occupation of Okinawa, which I embarrassingly knew little about. A great read for anyone who enjoys reading stories about families and identity.