Forgiveness (30 page)

While publishing a book is a public act, writing is often a solitary one. Yet a chorus of people with generous spirits filled me with encouragement along the way: the entire Hikida family, Darlene Dee, Karning Hum, the staff at the Esplanade Arts & Heritage Centre, Brynne Eaton Auva’a, Kathryn Eaton, Nik Sexton and Kathy Mentier, Jeffrey Remedios, Kevin Bosch, Lanny Bolger,
Janet Eger, Sachin Aggarwal, Abe Schwartz, Joanna Carroll, Joseph Fuda, Lisa Uyeda, Lindsey Love, Ryan Hehr, Shawn Brade, Jord Cowan, Spencer Blair, Eric Van Enk, Samantha McWilliams, Ron and Joyce Sakamoto, Gary and Glory Oseki, Liz McNally, Anthony Gerbrandt, Peter C. Newman, Angie Morris, Gave Lindo, and Myles and Deborah Warken.

Some dear friends were kind enough to speak at length with me as my story took shape: Jon Penney, Naomi Teitel, and Lynndsey Larre. A particular thank you to Michael Ignatieff for his prescient words of advice and encouragement.

I am very thankful for the opportunity HarperCollins Canada offered me in publishing this book. I am grateful to the production team and the promotional team, and to Allyson Latta and Allegra Robinson, whose detailed eye caught more than I’d care to admit. Most of all, I’m indebted to Jim Gifford, my editor. It is a privilege to work with someone who is truly exceptional at what they do. Jim’s calming insightfulness pervades this book.

Thanks to my lawyer, agent, and friend, the irreplaceable, indefatigable—likely indestructible—Michael Levine. Without his effort, this book would not have come to be.

I’d give anything for this story to have ended differently. I wish my mom were here with us, here with her grandchildren, Miya, Samuel, and Tomi. Their little souls would have brought so much joy to her life. I am grateful that my dad’s loving presence fills my life and theirs. I’m grateful he found Susan. I’m blessed to have my family: Stan and Susan; Daniel, Carly, and Samuel; Cameron and Kim; Chad, Theresa, Emmett, and Calla; Carrick and Amanda; Logan and Kumiko.

I want to offer a special thank you to my brother, Daniel. This is, for better and worse, his story too. I was concerned that publishing parts of our story would impact him negatively. It has not. He urged me to tell our story, our whole story. As a result of this journey I came to admire him even more.

I cannot fathom what I did in some previous life to generate the kind of karma that brought Jade into my life. And if I lived a hundred more lives I couldn’t be as proud of the two precious souls our love has brought into this world. Miya and Tomi are all we need. This project essentially left Jade a single parent with two small children. Throughout it all, she shouldered the burden of our family’s daily needs and gave me encouragement. More than anything, Jade, I love you.

It is good, finally, to be home.

MARK SAKAMOTO
, a lawyer by training, has enjoyed a rich and varied career. He began by promoting live music, which led to work with several international acts. He has worked at a Canadian broadcaster and served as a senior political advisor. Both an entrepreneur and an investor in digital health and media, he sits on the board of the Ontario Media Development Corporation. Sakamoto lives in Toronto with his wife and two children. Follow him on Twitter @MarkSakamoto1.

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“An unforgettable story about the power of forgiveness, set against one of the darkest periods in Canada’s history. Mark Sakamoto tells his family’s story with grace and at times brutal honesty. Painful and poignant,
Forgiveness
is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit.” —Mellissa Fung, author of
Under an Afghan Sky

“A relatable journey of real-life ups and downs—humble reminders, throughout, to be more kind and forgiving of others and to ourselves, that letting go is to be grateful for life’s challenges as tests of courage and willingness to forge through fear and disappointment. This book shares many examples of powerful life lessons that inspire us to embrace change as a gift from learning, and [remind us] that making peace with our past is possible if we hold on to what we’ve learned from our experiences and let go of what we cannot change.”

—Shania Twain

“Mark Sakamoto’s family story shows how individuals—the author’s Canadian grandfather, a POW of the Japanese, and his Japanese-Canadian grandmother, sent to a work camp in Alberta—ultimately make their own history. This is a quintessential Canadian story, where family history is not forgotten but does not imprison its participants.” —Nathan M. Greenfield, author of
The Damned

“This is an astonishing book, part memoir, part saga of two Canadian families, Japanese and Canadian, that were at war with each other and found peace and forgiveness together. It is a funny, heartbreaking story of a family scarred by history’s pain and their own self-destructiveness, yet redeemed by stoic endurance and the capacity for forgiveness. You’re going to remember this book.”

—Michael Ignatieff

Cover photo courtesy Mark Sakamoto

Forgiveness
Copyright © 2014 by Mark Sakamoto

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EPUB Edition May 2015 ISBN 9781443417990

Published by Harper Perennial, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

First published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd in a hardcover edition: 2014
This Harper Perennial trade paperback edition: 2015

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