On Saturday, June 30, at 2:00 p.m. Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, the prizewinning author of the modern classic Farewell to Manzanar, will honor the San Leandro Main Library at 300 Estudillo Avenue by kicking off an exciting series of CALIFORNIA READS events.
Jeanne Wakatsuki was seven years old in 1942 when her family was uprooted from their home and sent to live at Manzanar concentration camp with 10,000 other Japanese Americans amidst barbed wire, searchlight towers and armed guards. She has said that it took her 25 years to be able to talk about what happened. Co-written with her now deceased husband Jim, Jeanne's memoir is a modern classic, often compared with The Diary of Anne Frank as an example of poignant literature on the effects of war on youth and the human spirit.
At the June 30 event, you can join a book club to discuss Farewell to Manzanar. Discussions will be held throughout the summer. You can also host own book group with friends. A limited supply of free books is available to those join or start a book group. Admission is free and refreshments will be served.
