At the time I was writing 'Weedflower,' my friend Naomi Hirahara was writing a book about Japanese-American flower farmers. She knew quite a few elderly farmers and put me in touch with four or five of them who had been… — Cynthia Kadohata Copy Share Image
I almost never slept deeply anymore--as soon as she said my name, I always sat up immediately, no matter how tired I was. — Cynthia Kadohata Copy Share Image
“Jichan looked surprised. "Nothing wrong with gullible. How you be happy if not gullible?” — Cynthia Kadohata Copy Share Image
I have so much respect for people who do blue-collar work because I come from that background myself. — Cynthia Kadohata Copy Share Image
“It was hard to stay angry when I felt so sad. I would rather have felt angry, but instead, all I could do was sob. Even though people had been coming over all day, the house seemed so lonely that I couldn't stand it. The room grew somewhat dimmer. I didn't move as it grew dimmer still. Then, with a… — Cynthia Kadohata Copy Share
Some days I think she was really miserable, because she cried a lot. In a way, I'd had to steel my heart to her… — Cynthia Kadohata Copy Share Image
“When she first died, I felt sorry about all the pills I'd given that made her feel so miserable. But now I didn't feel so many regrets. Lynn wanted her life. I thought she was willing to suffer if she could still taste her food, if she could still talk about the sea, if she could still feel a breeze… — Cynthia Kadohata Copy Share
“On the forty-ninth day after Lynn's death I opened all the windows in the alcove, even though it was raining. I closed my eyes… — Cynthia Kadohata Copy Share Image
“For everything in my life, I would ask, Why? Why didn't the Chinese lady have teeth? Probably it was because she didn't brush them enough. I asked myself why we had to move to Georgia. It was because my father needed to work at this hatchery so he could support us better. Why did I kind of like that boy?… — Cynthia Kadohata Copy Share
In 1982, when I was almost 26 years old, I decided I wanted to write fiction. I'd majored in journalism in college, and I'd… — Cynthia Kadohata Copy Share Image
I try to find my deepest, often hidden feelings about what's working and what's not. This is difficult because I do lie to myself without being aware that that's what I'm doing. — Cynthia Kadohata Copy Share
