Elizabeth Miki Brina's parents met in Okinawa. Her mother had a job as a cocktail waitress. Her father was a Vietnam veteran. Her mother was an alcoholic. Her father had shell shock from the Vietnam war and an unhealthy tendency towards codependency. Elizabeth also was a hot mess as a child but she bravely airs all of the family dirty laundry in her memoir, Speak Okinawa: A Memoir by Elizabeth Miki Brina. I have never been to Okinawa but I have heard about it from relatives and friends. I didn't know that President Ulysses S. Grant decided that Okinawa should be a part of Japan. I have read about crimes committed against citizens of Okinawa by United States troops but I wasn't aware of the Koza riot in 1970. One of my cousins on my Mom's side was stationed in Japan and he married a woman there and they have children together. I'd be very interested in visiting with them but he is the kind of cousin who does not stay in touch very much. I believe they live near Seattle, Washington now. I wonder how their teenage children are coping. Like me, Elizabeth regrets some of her youthful indiscretions. This author regrets her choices much more than I do. Honestly I am slightly proud of some of my "sins." Like a good child Elizabeth copied the behaviors of her parents. I think every family has some injustices to reckon with. I will remember this book for a long time.
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