Santa Cruz County Reads: Farewell to Manzanar

As 2008 begins, Santa Cruz Public Libraries and the Friends of the Santa Cruz Public Libraries invite residents to participate in a One Book, One Community: Santa Cruz County Reads program. The chosen title is Farewell to Manzanar written by local authors Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James Houston. This book, which appeals to both adults and young people, was selected because the themes-- constitutional rights, immigration, cultural diversity, and California history are all directly relevant to our community.

During World War II a community called Manzanar was hastily created in the high mountain desert country of California, east of the Sierras. Its purpose was to house thousands of Japanese American internees. One of the first families to arrive was the Wakatsukis, who were ordered to leave their fishing business in Long Beach and take with them only the belongings they could carry. For Jeanne Wakatsuki, a seven-year-old child, Manzanar became a way of life in which she struggled and adapted, observed and grew. For her father it was essentially the end of his life. At age thirty-seven, Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston recalls life at Manzanar through the eyes of the child she was. She tells of her fear, confusion, and bewilderment as well as the dignity and great resourcefulness of people in oppressive and demeaning circumstances. Written with her husband, Jeanne delivers a powerful first-person account that reveals her search for the meaning of Manzanar.

One Book, One Community programs have been sponsored by public libraries across the United States for several years. The purpose is to encourage people to come together through reading and discussion of a common book; to embrace the notion of civic unity through the reading of literature. Everyone is encouraged to participate by reading the book during the months of January, February, and March of 2008. The Santa Cruz Public Libraries system will host programs, displays, book discussion groups and offer book club materials that draw on the themes of Farewell to Manzanar. All programs are free and open to the public. Copies of the book are available at all branches and local bookstores, and our book discussion guide provides some selected topics for discussion.