Bento Box in the Heartland: My Japanese Girlhood in Whitebread America

Linda Furiya is a Nisei, a second-generation Japanese American. Her father served in the Japanese Military in China, and her mother was was brought over to the U.S. as part of an arranged marriage. Thus Linda, like many other Japanese Americans of the time, was trying to live in what was a two-culture world; the Japanese culture of her parents, and the American culture of those around her.

She grew up in a small Indiana town, and for most of the time they were the only Asians in the town. This made it difficult on Linda. The book is an excellent story of how she grew up in such a world, and the various problems that she encountered in trying to achieve some balance between the two cultures.

The book is also closely tied in to food, and how it should be appreciated, and how it so strongly reflects the culture it came from. The book even has some recipes for some of the food discussed in the book.

It's really a delightful read.

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