by Ben Sanematsu, Illustrated. - 1998, 192 pages, 5.5 X 8.5 perfect boundThe chronicle of one man's quest-from internment camp through deepening blindness-to achieve mainstream success...sightless, in a sighted world.
On May 23, 1942, Ben Sanematsu and his family, with one suitcase each, left their small California farm to board an anonymous bus-destination unknown. The destination turned out to be Poston #1 W.R.A. detention camp in Arizona's scorching, barren Colorado desert.
From that day, Ben Sanematsu has led an exceptional life, though he would be the last to say so. (When asked about the subtitle of his autobiography, An Asian American Journey, Ben quips modestly, "Well, it has been quite a trip.")
But in 1982, urged by his wife and helpmate, Kimie, he began dictating what she believed would be an inspirational history. The work went on in fits and starts for over 10 years.
Now this labor has come to fruit in a simply-told chronicle of a determined man's struggle with retinitis pigmentosa, a slow erosion of vision that eventually results in total blindness.
The book takes us with Ben from the family farm and W.R.A. camp, through decades of stubborn endeavor to master Braille and the white cane, and never compromise his pride and independence on the long climb to career success in a biased world.
Most touchingly, the book recounts his marriage to Kimie Yanagawa and their many travels together until the onset of her illness in 1993.
With Kimie, Ben found that the only true vision is inner vision. Inward Light, beyond its other messages, remains an elegy to the partner through whose eyes he saw the world for 34 years.
After a long and successful career as an educator, Ben devoted his retirement to volunteer work at the Braille Institute and travels with (and finally care for) his wife, Kimie, who, after a long illness, died in August, 1997.
ORDER -- Item #2590, Price $14.95
