JAX Exchange - Spring 2026 - Magazine - Page 58

BOOK CLUB WITH AUTHOR & CENTENARIAN
K I Y O S AT O
A S TO RY T H AT N E E D S TO B E TO L D
Many evenings at The Jacquelyn leave a mark. Our recent
Book Club gathering with author and centenarian Kiyo Sato
was one of them.
Born in Sacramento in 1923, Kiyo is now 102 years old and still
speaking and advocating; making sure her story reaches the
people who need to hear it. That story found a particularly
meaningful home among our members and their guests, who
gathered to discuss her memoir, Kiyo’s Story: A JapaneseAmerican Family’s Quest for the American Dream — a
book she published at 80 years old, that went on to receive
the prestigious William Saroyan International Prize for
Writing (non昀椀ction).
The memoir traces Kiyo’s childhood in Sacramento, her
family’s forced removal and incarceration in internment
camps during World War II, and the long, resilient road of
rebuilding that followed. Blending humor, honesty, and sharp
historical clarity, it is an account of identity, belonging, and
the Japanese American experience.
58
|
SPRING 2026

Paperturn flipbook viewer