The eldest of nine children, Kiyo Sato was living on her family's California strawberry farm in 1942 when a government order forced them and other Japanese Americans on the West Coast to abandon their homes and board trains taking them to internment camps. Goldsmith describes the harsh, overcrowded, unsanitary conditions there as well as the courage and dignity that Sato's parents brought to the situation. When Sato was allowed to leave for college, she did, though she missed her family, particularly at Christmas. While the book concentrates on the years during and immediately following WWII, it also traces Sato's life as a nurse in the Korean War and in California schools, while focusing on her tireless, ongoing activism and public speaking related to her family's painful experience of unjustified incarceration based on prejudice and wartime hysteria. Goldsmith's thorough research includes Sato's autobiography and a series of interviews with Sato and with other family members. Illustrations, particularly photos, appear throughout the book. This informative biography sheds light on a dark chapter in American history.

Illuminates the story of a Japanese American activist's experiences with internment and her perseverance in rebuilding her life. In 1941, Sato's family was living near Sacramento, California, on her family's small but successful farm. Seven of her younger siblings were in school, another was in the U.S. Army, and Sato herself had just entered college. A year later, everything had changed: In February 1942, the U.S. government forced anyone with one-sixteenth or more Japanese ancestry into incarceration camps. In a straightforward and affecting narrative, the authors take readers through a personal journey well embedded in its historical context. The Satos' experience is recounted alongside the dominant sentiments and political policies of the times. Sidebars further elucidate events, enhanced by photographs and archival documents. One such inset explains the contracting of photographers to paint internment in a positive light. Another examines the euphemistic language used to influence public perceptions of this suspension of civil rights. After the war, Sato pursued a career in nursing in the U.S. Air Force and in public health. A Korean War veteran and president of the Sacramento branch of the Japanese American Citizens League, she has been active as a public speaker, making school visits to educate youth about internment and advocating for human rights. This timely and important story puts a human face on a shameful chapter in American history. A moving, insightful portrait. (foreword, author's note, family tree, timeline, glossary, source notes, bibliography, further information, index, photo credits) (Biography. 12-16) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.