Silver Like Dust: One Family's Story of America's Japanese Internment

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Kimi’s Obaachan, her grandmother, had always been a silent presence throughout her youth.&nbsp; Sipping tea by the fire, preparing sushi for the family, or indulgently listening to Ojichan’s
stories for the thousandth time, Obaachan was a missing
link to Kimi’s Japanese heritage, something she had had a mixed
relationship with all her life.&nbsp; Growing
up in rural Pennsylvania, all Kimi ever wanted to do was fit in,
spurning traditional Japanese culture and her grandfather’s attempts to
teach her the language.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

But
there was one part of Obaachan’s life that fascinated and haunted
Kimi—her gentle yet proud Obaachan was once a prisoner, along with
112,000 Japanese Americans, for more than five years of her life.&nbsp; Obaachan never spoke of those years, and Kimi’s own mother only spoke of it in whispers.&nbsp; It was a source of haji, or shame.&nbsp; But what really happened to Obaachan, then a young woman, and the thousands of other men, women, and children like her?&nbsp;

From
the turmoil, racism, and paranoia that sprang up after the bombing of
Pearl Harbor, to the terrifying train ride to Heart Mountain, Silver Like Dust
captures a vital chapter the Japanese-American experience through the
journey of one remarkable woman and the enduring bonds of family.