Book Talk: From Thorns to Blossoms – A Japanese American Family in War and Peace

This talk features author Mitzi Loftus, a memoirist who has written of her family’s experience with imprisonment during WWII at the Tulelake internment camp, and the subsequent anti-Japanese sentiment following the war’s end. Approximately 120,000 Japanese-Americans, including adults and children, were incarcerated between 1942 and 1945, merely on the basis of their ancestry. Few are still living who can tell about their personal history in these places surrounded by barbed wife fences and armed guards. Lotus’ story is one of resilience, perseverance and self-awareness through very challenging circumstances.

Bio: Mitzi (Mitsuko) Loftus was born in Hood River, Oregon where her family cultivated a fruit orchard. Her family was imprisoned in Tulelake, California during WWII. Following their release, the family members experienced ostracization when they returned home. Despite these challenges, Loftus became valedictorian of her high school class, attended the University of Oregon, and became an English and French teacher at the secondary level. She earned a Fulbright scholarship to teach in Japan, where she was able to reconnect to her Japanese heritage. Her purpose is to share her family’s experience so that this important history is not forgotten. “I want my descendants, my second, third, fourth, fifth generation folks, to know how very special my parents were and that they gave me the strength and positivity that I have.”