When I was in the fifth grade of elementary school, the essay I wrote when I won the school speech contest was titled "My Grandpa Walked Again."
I never learned how to write the story, but under my elder sister's influence, who was a voracious reader, I read quite a lot during my school days.
At some point, I began to approach writing as a "writer," and "writing" became a constant part of my daily life.

After my daughter was born, I just kept writing without showing my work to anyone.
It was so painful and lonely that I almost give myself many times.

But I kept on writing.
Because it was the only place for me to live.

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March 11, 2003.
It felt like my life took a 180-degree turn.
I don't want to talk too much about it here, but on that day, I lost all notions of what I considered "normal."

Eight years later, on March 11, 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake struck Japan, an unprecedented disaster scale.
As I prayed for the souls of the many victims, I took on the task of "writing."

I faced many conflicts, but I continued my efforts to write the sequel to my first book, hoping that I wrote would be a light for someone else.

From that time on, I had a growing desire to tell the people of New York, U.S.A., where we live, about our journey as immigrants in proper English.

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Although I speak English daily, it is not at the so-called "bilingual" level.
I work in English and have no trouble with most conversations.

However, I am not able to convey all my thoughts in English.
I have been writing articles for Japanese magazines in addition to my books, and I deal with the Japanese language for a living.
I am not confident that I can translate the nuances of what I want to say in English.

As if it were fate, I met a wonderful translation team, and a new project had begun.
In telling the story of my life as an immigrant to Americans living on the same soil, writing to a Japanese audience would not work.
I needed a professional team to translate the cultural backgrounds and references that only Japanese readers would understand into American ones and add explanations where necessary.

I was turned away by the major publishers ( or, to be precise, they kept me waiting for a long time before disappearing completely.).
The publishers who had initially expressed interest in working with us must have lost their passion for this project.
The people around me just watched quietly, thinking that they wouldn't be able to read English anyway.

A long, long time passed.

But some of my companions never lost hope and kept working to fulfill my wish.

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Born into this world on that fateful day, my eldest daughter celebrated her 18th birthday on March 11 this year.
In Japan, awareness of the "adult guardian system" for disabled and elderly who cannot communicate their wishes is gradually increasing.
In the U.S., we as parents have to begin this process to remain in the legal position of "guardian."

Very soon, we will accomplish my goal of releasing my book in English by the time I reach that milestone.
I'll leave the story of how I got this far for another opportunity.

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The team has completed a fantastic translation of my book.
They have taken a serious subject and conveyed it perfectly in easy-to-understand English.
It was the first time for me to experience that I knew they could express my own words in English like this.
I think this book has great potential to be useful as an English-language resource or as a commentary on social morals.

The new title "Born(e)" was born from the past participle of the word "to bear."
The parentheses here signify the addition of a letter that I feel should not be necessary.
Rather than bearing disadvantages and obstacles to reaping the fruits from the (borne), we wish for a society where the "e" is removed, and all people are accepted as they are (born).

We hope that many people will pick up a copy of this book.

Please share this NOTE with others to support this Japanese family who has been crying out in a small voice from our little corner of the U.S.

Thank you for your support.

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If you are interested in purchasing the first edition of "Born(e)," which is an English translation of my two books in Japan with a new message, please contact SERI'S GIFT ASSOCIATION: info@mikanno-okurimono.org