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I'm a Japanese American author and the daughter of a Hiroshima survivor residing in Charlotte, NC. As well as a wife, mom, and owner of a dog who is a kitchen ninja. The UNITED NATIONS Office of Disarmament Affairs lists The Last Cherry Blossom (Distributed by Simon&Schuster and Scholastic), as an Education Resource for Teachers and Students. I'd love to discuss the ways my novel can show the human emotional need for connection and how the ones we may think of as our 'enemy' are not always so different from ourselves. Writing gives me an outlet for my daily struggle with chronic pain from Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. I've presented my mother’s experience in Hiroshima to middle and high schools for the past 9 years. And I'm honored to say that on November 5th I will be speaking at the United Nations Office of Disarmament Affairs Education Session and a Meet the Author event at the UN Bookshop, NYC.
TLCB has been nominated for NC School Library Media Association YA book award and 2019-2020 VSBA, 2018& 2016 Scholastic WNDB Reading Club selection, and Finalist for NC Sir Walter Raleigh Fiction Award, 2018 Sakura Medal, Japan, and SCBWI Crystal Kite Award(southeast region)