A+Note+about+the+Author

About the Author: Jeanne (Toyo) Wakatsuki Houston was born on September 26, 1934 in Inglewood California. Her father Ko, was a Hiroshima born man and her mother Riku, was born in Hawaii. In 1942, just following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Jeanne and her family were forced to live in an internment camp called Manzanar located in Owens Valley, California. She and her family spent three years here until the United Sates allowed them to leave. Several years later, she entered the University of San Jose and studied sociology and Journalism. She also met her husband James D. Houston and the two married in 1957. For a few years, Jeanne worked as a juvenile probation officer until she and her husband moved to Paris. She studied at the University of Paris and soon began to develop her writing. In 1973, she published //Farewell to Manzanar//. In the years to follow, she also wrote several other pieces. Jeanne is the recipient for several awards including the Humanities Prize and the Christopher Award for her screenplay. She also won the National Women’s Political Caucus and the Wonder Women Award. She currently lives in Santa Cruz with her husband and three children.

Information courtesy of WWAD: the Department of History and The Program in Women's Studies, The College of Staten Island of The City University of New York, Fall Semester 2000. http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/389/cassarino.html

Kirsten