Coming soon.

Synopsis

My Pledge to Hiroshima:
Elizabeth’s Story

My Pledge to Hiroshima: Elizabeth’s Story is a historical novel recounting the relationship of biracial Dr. Elizabeth Kingsley and her daughter Kiyomi both searching for their identities in Japan and United States, spanning World War II and the Vietnam Era.

The novel is based on the true story of the author’s mother, Dr. Elizabeth Kingsley, daughter of the British consul general of Japan and a Japanese heiress. Elizabeth’s “outsider” identity is a both a blessing and a curse. Although Japanese locals consider her a “half breed,” her “foreigner” status lands her a job with the United States Nuclear Radiation Research Center* in Hiroshima. Elizabeth is shocked to realize the center’s mission is to make the atomic bomb survivors “case studies” for future war efforts—not to treat their afflictions. She quits and returns to Tokyo, where she provides for her family as a doctor in war-torn Japan.

In post-war Tokyo, she struggles with her resilient but demanding mother, neglected but ambitious brothers, an affair with an American colonel and a sexual assault by a Japanese mafia kingpin. Pregnant, Elizabeth falls into a failed marriage with a Japanese American soldier, Kai, who succumbs to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from his internment in a US-based incarceration camp.

Cancer and its harsh medical treatments crushes Elizabeth leaving her feeble. She falls into an agonizing sleep with her daughter by her side. Her frail body in Kiyomi’s warm arms, Elizabeth finds a peace she never realized she craved – her daughter’s acceptance and love. Elizabeth had lived in guilt that she failed as a mother consumed with earning money for her poverty-stricken family, guilt for having been assaulted by a ruthless gangster, guilt for not creating a peaceful home for Kiyomi with a loving husband. Yet in Kiyomi’s arms, she feels a forgiveness that soothes her besieged soul. As she reflects on her life near death, she realizes the chaos and trauma of war and fighting for survival prevented her from receiving the love she craved from Iso, her own mother. Seeking that love, she devoted herself to “giri,” a Japanese societal obligation to fulfill her duties as the eldest sibling in the family, sometimes against her own personal aspirations.

As Elizabeth succumbs to death, the novel transitions to her daughter, Kiyomi. In a heart wrenching quest, Kiyomi sifts through her mother’s past and knits together the hidden pieces of her own story. Finally coming to terms with the mystery behind her parentage, Kiyomi finds Kai dead from an apparent suicide in Hawaii. As Kiyomi struggles with her inner demons, she accepts the Japan’s Order of the Rising Sun, awarded to her mother posthumously for exceptional civil and military merit. After attending an unexpected funeral honoring Kai for his military service at Punch Bowl National Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Kiyomi finally finds peace and a sense of belonging in the Big Island of Hawaii, birthplace of Kai.

Valarie Kusuda

Born in Japan to a British-Japanese mother and Japanese American father, Valarie Kusuda was raised during the post-WWII U.S. Occupation era. This provided first-hand experience and insights for her first historical novel, My Pledge to Hiroshima: Elizabeth’s Story.

As a young student in Japan, Valarie aspired to be a journalist and wrote feature articles for Wingspread a US air force base newspaper. She completed her undergraduate studies in Japan at Waseda University in Tokyo and graduated from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri with a bachelor’s degree in Japanese Literature. In addition to Japanese Literature, she studied French Literature. She obtained her master’s degree in Public Administration at International Christian University in Tokyo.

During her work at People-to-People International, founded by Dwight D. Eisenhower to promote international understanding, Valarie organized a law and commerce conference in Tokyo. In 1988, she edited the book U.S.-Japan Law and Commerce, based on speeches presented at plenary and panel sessions, during a period when bilateral trade relations were at an all-time low. She also edited the book Crime Prevention and Control in the United States and Japan, based on the papers presented at the conference. Both books are used as textbooks at several universities in the U.S. and in Tokyo.

Valarie has also been employed in managerial posts including public relations, marketing, and government affairs for the Asia Pacific Region with U.S. aerospace firm, Boeing where, for thirteen years, her work involved lobbying, writing speeches for executives, white papers, press releases and marketing materials for the company.

She currently lives and writes in a suburb in Seattle, Washington. She has two grown children and two grandchildren. Her hobbies include traveling, swimming, writing and watercolor painting.

See all Valarie's beautiful artworks...