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themythicalbookshelf 's review for:
Speak, Okinawa: A Memoir
by Elizabeth Miki Brina
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
She just wants to be close. She just wants to be home. She doesn't understand, and I don't either - I won't, not for a long time - why I feel so different from her, why I want so desperately to be so different from people like her.
This book was outside of my usual realm of fiction fantasy, etc., but it was really good. It's beautifully written and poignant, and it evoked so many emotions while reading. Like seriously, there were tears in my eyes as I finished the last chapter. Elizabeth Miki Brina masterfully weaved together the history and hardships of Okinawa with her own experience and family dynamic.
I believe we inherit sin as much as we inherit trauma. I believe inherited sin is its own form of trauma. But maybe we have a chance at redemption. By being aware, being honest. By giving up power. By changing ourselves. By apologizing. By forgiving? What would atonement look and forgiveness look like? Within a person, a family, a nation?
I really enjoyed the amount of reflection on past experiences in childhood and adulthood that were included, as well as the journey of understanding, forgiving, and repairing in the relationships in the book. I also thought that Elizabeth Miki Brina did a great job not only bringing awareness to Okinawa's past, but also its present and how the Japanese and US governments continue to fail this land and its people. Overall a 4.5 star read for me.
This book was outside of my usual realm of fiction fantasy, etc., but it was really good. It's beautifully written and poignant, and it evoked so many emotions while reading. Like seriously, there were tears in my eyes as I finished the last chapter. Elizabeth Miki Brina masterfully weaved together the history and hardships of Okinawa with her own experience and family dynamic.
I believe we inherit sin as much as we inherit trauma. I believe inherited sin is its own form of trauma. But maybe we have a chance at redemption. By being aware, being honest. By giving up power. By changing ourselves. By apologizing. By forgiving? What would atonement look and forgiveness look like? Within a person, a family, a nation?
I really enjoyed the amount of reflection on past experiences in childhood and adulthood that were included, as well as the journey of understanding, forgiving, and repairing in the relationships in the book. I also thought that Elizabeth Miki Brina did a great job not only bringing awareness to Okinawa's past, but also its present and how the Japanese and US governments continue to fail this land and its people. Overall a 4.5 star read for me.