Dia de los Muertos, 2 Deaths, and Life Writing

Posted on November 4, 2018 by moonbridgebooks

I watched the animated movie Coco last night (my first time) as fitting for Dia de los Muertos as well as All Saints Day. I love the Day of the Dead celebration welcoming spirits of ancestors to come back for a visit, showing them how much we still remember and miss them. This is similar to the Japanese Obon celebration in summer. The Pixar movie shows a colorful fantasy world of the dead, who live on in not-scary skeleton form – until they are no longer remembered by anyone living and turn to dust.

Yes, there is a second death, when no one living remembers you anymore. Then you are truly dead. The Coco movie is a message to the living that I take to heart. I encourage life writing to capture in print the stories of ourselves and our ancestors, so we and they have a chance to “live” forever, or at least until the last book copy of us is lost.

Another reason to write the stories of ourselves and our ancestors is that they contain the history and culture of the time. Every life that passes unwritten is a historical and sociological reference book missing from our family library. Both Cherry Blossoms in Twilight and Battlefield Doc are even in public and university libraries. Most of us have stories of what life was like for “everyday” people. History books do not capture these kinds of stories, so they are lost if we don’t write them.

What can you do about this? Start writing whatever you know! November is National Life Writing Month. It is also NaNoWriMo. Many writers are participating in National Novel Writing Month, but you don’t need to work on a novel; you can challenge yourself to start on your family history or a memoir. Don’t worry about perfection, just write. Type up what you know. You can gather more stories, put it all together, and edit later. Here are some words of encouragement:

“Every person passing through this life will unknowingly leave something and take something away. Most of this ‘something’ cannot be seen or heard or numbered or scientifically detected or counted. It’s what we leave in the minds of other people and what they leave in ours. Memory.
—Robert Fulghum, author of Everything I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

A life well lived is a precious gift
Of hope and strength and grace,
From someone who has made our world
A brighter, better place.
It’s filled with moments, sweet and sad
With smiles and sometimes tears,
With friendships formed and good times shared
And laughter through the years.
A life well lived is a legacy
Of joy and pride and pleasure,
A living, lasting memory
Our grateful hearts will treasure.
—Author unknown

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Marigolds2

Marigold petals are featured in the movie Coco, guiding the spirits to the family altars

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Memoir is lived history

Posted on October 8, 2018 by moonbridgebooks

My mother’s birthday has passed, and I can’t believe she has been gone for six years now. The anniversary of her death comes in November, so each year as my favorite season arrives I am struck all over again with fresh memories of her last days, and the thought of her life so filled with history. The Japanese civilian experience surviving WWII is still so rarely spoken of or written about. And the Japan of her childhood no longer exists.

When my mother died, I lost my anchor to Japan, and I think of this fascinating genetic and cultural link fading away with my daughters. Their children will be all American, and no hint of Japan will be left but perhaps a few inherited curiosities. Thank goodness for the stories. As the leaves become beautiful in death, I think of Cherry Blossoms in Twilight, and I am so glad that even through death, my mother’s stories survive. She will be remembered. History has been captured.

Our elder generation is leaving us, taking their stories with them. How did people live in those days? Times were so different then. Don’t let your family stories die. They are your inheritance, and history worth saving.

Yaeko+Junko 1952

My mother at left, with friend Junko, when they worked for American families during the Occupation

 

Cherry Blossoms Twilight

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Sylvia Acevedo’s Inspirational Path to the Stars Memoir

Posted on September 9, 2018 by moonbridgebooks

Rocket scientist and Girl Scout CEO Sylvia Acevedo was at our St. Louis County Library today inspiring an audience full of girls to reach for the stars, aided by skills learned in scouting. Her memoir, Path to the Stars: My Journey from Girl Scouts to Rocket Scientist, is a testament to the value of scouting. Girls, in particular, can really benefit from the opportunities to learn and achieve on their own and as a team, building confidence in their own skills and their leadership abilities. Ms. Acevedo broke ground by becoming the first Hispanic person to graduate from Stanford with a master’s degree in engineering, and one of the first women to work for Sandia Labs – when there was NO bathroom for a woman to run to during breaks (if you’ve seen the Hidden Figures movie). She needed a bicycle! She was also one of the first women to work for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab. If you have a chance to see her on her book tour, go—she is a delight.

Ms. Acevedo said she started writing her memoir four years ago because people kept lining up to talk to her after her speaking events with the Girl Scouts. She has been on the Girl Scouts board for many years, became interim CEO, and a year later given the permanent position. What a journey she’s had from being a lonely new girl in a mostly white school to excited Brownie Scout to university and career in engineering, now giving back to the scouts. Coming from a home of poverty, troubles, and traditional expectations of women, she learned through Girl Scouts that there was a wider world of possibilities out there. She learned to set goals and achieve them by steps, to manage her money, to be prepared, to be persistent. Selling cookies door-to-door is a bigger learning experience than you may think!

Sylvia’s mother was a supportive figure, and I love how being involved in Girl Scouts empowered even her to break from the traditions of her culture to become more assertive, independent, and fulfilled. Sylvia’s troop leaders were encouraging and supportive to both mother and daughter, one being responsible for turning Sylvia toward a career in science after noticing her looking at the stars. “You can earn badges for both cooking AND science.” (As you might know, cooking IS science.)

I read most of Path to the Stars while waiting for the program to begin and while waiting for my turn to get in the (long) autograph line. The last several chapters finished at home are just the best! This is a book for girls (or boys) reading at about the 4th grade level or above, or it’s a great book to read aloud. It is a rich story of trials overcome, the value of mentors, of having persistence, and—most of all—girl power!

By the way, Ms. Acevedo’s favorite Girl Scout cookie is Thin Mints because the scent of a broken cookie is so calming, and her favorite planet is (was) Pluto – yay!

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[Mom brag: My older daughter has an aerospace degree, but NASA wasn’t hiring during the recession so for a few years she became a petroleum engineer working with all-male crews in New Mexico’s desolate landscape, and, yes, similar to Sylvia’s story, the company had to find a uniform small enough to fit her. Now she has an engineering office job and is a Girl Scout leader of two troops and helps manage a service unit for program and training support, despite being young and not having any children. She is also a regional field director for Phi Sigma Rho, a women’s engineering sorority. I am very proud of my busy girl!]

Posted in book reviews, book talk, multicultural, overcoming | Tagged | 2 Comments