Nov 19, 2017

Grief Is A Part of America's History


Grief and loss are part of our daily lives and also part of America's past history. During WWII families experienced devastating losses of family members. My historical fiction series reveals the losses and hardships thousands of Japanese Americans in the United States were forced to endure during their time in prison camps in United States and the years following their release. In the review of On Liberty's Wings: A Post-WWII Novel, the third novel in my historical fiction series, Diane Donovan, Senior, Editor at Midwest Book Review, describes the challenges and hardships Japanese Americans continued to endure after the war.


On Liberty’s Wings: A Post-WWII Novel, book 3 of the Courageous Footsteps series continues the story of Yasu, who is now married and leading a new life in the aftermath of World War II, which landed her family in a Japanese internment camp and resulted in the death of her beloved brother.

How does one recover to lead a new life in the aftermath of such soul-wrenching disaster? That's one of the keys to understanding the determined, feisty Yasu's process as she faces a changed world and life, including a new teaching job and expanding opportunities, even as her husband Masato struggles to pursue a degree and faces losing his job to an experienced, returning war vet.

Especially notable as Yasu's story evolves is the ongoing impact of World War II on daily American life and perceptions post-war, and the prejudice against the Japanese which continues to permeate American society; something too many post-War stories omit: "My father—Leona’s grandfather—served during World War two. He was stationed in the Pacific and witnessed many horrible things done by Japanese soldiers. He does not want his precious granddaughter in your class.”

At different points along the way, Masato and Yasu face decisions about how they should lead their lives honorably ("Hey, I know how important your engineering degree is. Why didn’t you let me help?” Masato shrugged his shoulders and said to his friend Myron, “I appreciated your offer, but when I thought about it, I knew I had to earn my degree honestly. Otherwise what’s the point?”), and this adds to the overall theme of recovery and choices that lead in positive directions.

Readers who have followed Yasu's evolution in previous books will especially appreciate these threads of change which force these characters to consider new actions, reactions, and consequences of their behaviors even as society changes and evolves around them.

Many novels focus on the Japanese internment camp experience; but far fewer continue the story to document the ongoing challenges faced by the Japanese as they - and American society - recovers in the aftermath of war. The different forms of prejudice that continue to complicate her life, even for something as simple as a real estate transaction ("The couple refused to even consider buying a house that Japanese people lived in. You will have to find another realtor. I’m taking this house off my selling list."), are especially revealing and powerfully portrayed.

The themes of forgiveness, choice, prejudice, and achievement that run through Book 3 of the series paint a powerful portrait of family relationships, stress, cooperative efforts, and change. All this is set against the backdrop of daily life and goals, making for a realistic and involving feel that immerses readers in both Yasu's evolution and her family's recovery.

While the story stands nicely alone as an individual piece, when read in the wider context of Yasu's life, it serves as yet another jigsaw puzzle piece creating the bigger picture of the World War II experience. Especially when taken as an integral part of this blossoming series, it is recommended for mature teens to adult readers seeking far more psychological depth and social inspection than the usual focus on the Japanese experience in America during the War.

Reviewer, Diane Donovan, captures the essence of On Liberty’s Wings, in her review.

“The themes of forgiveness, choice, prejudice, and achievement that run through Dettmann’s On Liberty’s Wings, paint a powerful portrait of family relationships, stress, cooperative efforts, and change. All this is set against the backdrop of daily life and goals, making for a realistic and involving feel that immerses readers in both Yasu's evolution and her family's recovery.


While the story stands nicely alone as an individual piece, when read in the wider context of Yasu's life, it serves as yet another jigsaw puzzle piece creating the bigger picture of the World War II experience. Especially when taken as an integral part of this blossoming series, it is recommended for mature teens to adult readers seeking far more psychological depth and social inspection than the usual focus on the Japanese experience in America during the War.”



The books in the  award winning series are available online on Amazon and Barnes and Noble in e-book and paperback and in many independent bookstores. Books can also be ordered at Barnes Noble Bookstores in your area. Informative reads for young adult and adult readers. Excellent resources for high school libraries. More information at http://www.outskirtspress.com/liberty

Nov 3, 2017

GRIEF'S SOUL SEARCH

During the six years I spent alone after my husband died, I spent a lot of time soul searching. In the process, I journaled, traveled alone and revisited activities I enjoyed as a child. My love of writing pushed me to pour my grief into a book, Twenty-Eight Snow Angels: A Widow's Story of Love, Loss and Renewal. 


The honest, transparent story of the death of husband took seven years to write. It is now helping other widows and widowers and for that I am very grateful. I share my story of the devastating loss with church grief groups and at funeral home after care workshops. The book brings hope to others and for that I am truly grateful.


In 2015 I took the leap from memoir to historical fiction. Inspired by a Japanese family I knew when I was a child and after three years of researching the history of the Japanese interment camps, a piece of America's history I knew little about, I published my first novel, Courageous Footsteps: A WWII Novel. The award-winning book opens readers eyes to the injustices and hardships a Japanese-American family is forced to endure when they are removed from their homes by armed military guards and taken to a prison camp in eastern California. Surrounded by barbwire Yasu, a fifteen-year-old girl and her family, along with thousands of other Japanese family's, struggle to accept the over- crowded living conditions and daily hardships. In 2016, I released the sequel, Yasu's Quest: A Tale of Triumph. The book received excellent reader feedback which inspired me to write the third book in the series, On Liberty's Wings: A Post-WWII Novel. 



 In the depths of grief after the loss of my loving husband, I never imagined I would someday be an award-winning author sharing my books at events and receiving wonderful feedback from readers. I'm not sure what project will call me next, but I'll keep my eyes and heart open to the opportunities and experiences that will be revealed to me and hopefully inspire others to rediscover the things in life that bring them joy.

Visit  Diane's Website for more information.