In 1923 a young Japanese woman, Sachi, escapes a life of subservience to come to America, the land of the free. She learns the challenges of being a new wife and mother as well as a Japanese immigrant in an America increasingly hostile to Japanese. She meets Jack Albright with whom she develops a caring and dangerous relationship. In 1941 the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor. Sachi and many women like her are stripped of their husbands, businesses, homes, and most of their possessions simply because they look like the enemy. They and their children, most of whom are American citizens deprived of their constitutional rights, are sent to internment camps living in squalid conditions for years. How does a woman, raised to be obedient and dutiful, speak out for what is right amidst the fear of violence and imprisonment and lead her family back to freedom and home? Sachi - Drawing Pictures on Water is well-researched, historical fiction written in simple, but elegant prose, capturing the life of one remarkable woman and how she finds her voice; a woman whose three American sons ultimately choose very different paths; and a woman who feels deeply responsible to her husband, even as she loves Jack, mirroring the conflict of feelings and fears for both her countries, America and Japan. It is a voice to be heard, especially now, as our nation struggles with questions of civil rights and national security.
About the Author: Katherine Kemp Velez began writing about human rights issues as a journalism student in college and for United Press International. She earned her BA in Political Science and Journalism from the University of Nevada-Reno and a Masters in Counseling Psychology from the University of San Francisco. Katherine created the Multicultural Education & Understanding (ME&U) program in response to prejudice she witnessed in her community and taught the program in the local school system. Sachi - Drawing Pictures on Water, Katherine's first novel, grew from her work with ME & U. She met with community leaders and Japanese women whose internment experiences were the inspiration for the main character of Sachi. Sachi represents not only the courageous women of that time, but every woman who has struggled to keep her family strengthened and united. Katherine is a therapist living in northern California with her husband of 30 years and her dog Cali.