Secret Harvests

"A simultaneously elegant and sharp-edged exploration of the hidden past."-Kirkus Reviews (starred)

"Masumoto has shared his experiences as an organic farmer in central California in books and as a columnist for the Sacramento Bee. Here, he details his family's remarkable discovery in 2012 of an aunt—his mother's sister Shizuko (Sugi)—whose childhood case of meningitis rendered her mentally disabled, and who was thus forcibly separated from her siblings and parents during the internment of Japanese Americans in WWII...Masumoto thoughtfully ruminates on the swirl of emotions the war wrought on his family... and their shame in realizing that institutionalized care for Sugi might have been better than what they could have given her. Ultimately, there is pride in Sugi's resilience..." —Booklist

"Ultimately, the reader comes away from Secret Harvests with a sense of reverence for farmers and caregivers as well as an understanding of Masumoto's family history, which is representative of so many Japanese-American families' experiences in the last three generations. Reading this book will make you reconsider the value of difference, whether you are considering people or produce at the farmer's market." —Rachel Lutwick-Deaner, Southern Review of Books