Wine and Dine Literary Society

This past Wednesday evening Becky and I had the pleasure of attending a book-club meeting in Livermore, California where I addressed the Wine and Dine Literary Society. They had chosen How Much Do You Love Me?, my historical novel on the Japanese internment of World War II, as this month’s read. In the picture you see Rex and Linda Beach who hosted the event. Consistent with the group’s title, Becky and I were initially wined and dined in the form of a fabulous dinner (including Teriyaki Salmon as the entree and lemon meringue pie/strawberry shortcake for dessert). Then followed the book discussion.

The discussion was fun for me because all of the members had already read the book. As a result, we were able to discuss all aspects of How Much?, from the “secret” to the various moral implications inherent in the plot.

A very special guest (see photo to right) at the meeting was Dave Okasaki, a Japanese American who had been born at the Rohwer Relocation Center in Arkansas. Although he was too young to remember the internment, the event was pivotal in his life because of the effect the experience had on his family. He explained to us how important President Reagan’s 1988 signature of the Civil Liberties Act was to him. In that declaration, the U.S. apologized for the World War II internment. Mr. Okasaki said that the monetary grant he received was not nearly as important as the government’s official acknowledgment that sending them to the camps had been an injustice.

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Categorised in: How Much, Japanese Internment

This post was written by paulmarktag