Böcker i Hali'a Aloha-serien

Who knew a "kindergarten dropout" could make it so far? Restless and headstrong, Frances Kakugawa was raised amid the anti-Japanese fervor of wartime Hawai'i. Back then, she longed to leave her hardscrabble hometown in the shadow of Kīlauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes, with its kerosene lamps and outhouses stocked with Sears catalogs for toilet paper. As a child, Kakugawa pretended she was the long-lost daughter of the emperor who would reclaim her and restore her to her royal life-perhaps tomorrow, or maybe the next day. The imperial carriage never arrived, but Kakugawa did follow the path of her dreams, building a career as a teacher, an acclaimed poet and a nationally recognized authority on family caregiving and education. The Hali'a Aloha Series publishes personal essays, memoir, poetry and prose. The series celebrates moments big and small, harnessing the power of short forms to preserve the lived experiences of the storytellers.

When a vacation offers an escape from yet another brutal Minnesota winter, it turns into an unexpected calling. In a leap of faith, Ric d. Stark leaves his mainland home behind and moves to Hawai'i, changing the course of his life forever.

A fragmented childhood filled with heartbreak and disappointment left Valdeane Uchima Odachi feeling lost at sea, at the mercy of unseen currents. In this moving collection of personal reflections and whimsical poetry, Navigating Change follows Odachi as she discovers moments of grace and synchronicity while struggling to reconcile her multiple roles as daughter, sister, wife, mother, teacher and caregiver. Her journey's unexpected reward is a renewed self-identity and the realization that she has always had everything she needs to live the life she wants. The Hali'a Aloha Series publishes personal essays, memoir, poetry and prose. The series celebrates moments big and small, harnessing the power of short forms to preserve the lived experiences of the storytellers.

Grab a microphone and turn up the volume.Moving from Hawai'i to Fresno in seventh grade changed Adrienne Robillard's view of the world, herself, and her future. Being a new kid in a new school meant hours of time alone spent listening to cassette tapes and college radio, learning to play the guitar, and writing stories and lyrics. Joining a garage band in high school gave her a sense of belonging she'd never realized possible as she wrote songs with strangers who became treasured friends-one of whom she ended up marrying. Maps and Tapes follows Robillard from San Francisco to the UK, criss-crossing the US and Europe, feeling at home in a van on both sides of the road.In Fresno, "I went from having friends and blending in to being a loner who kept getting asked, 'What are you?' because I was one of a few half-Asian students at Ahwahnee Middle School," she recalls. "With my headphones on, I could ignore uncomfortable questions." Later, music became her primary creative outlet and a way for her not to hide, but to connect.In Maps and Tapes, Robillard interweaves lyrics written for her indie-rock bands between stories of first guitar lessons, young love, adventures in studying abroad, and gigging and touring with her bands. Her poignant prose paints a vivid portrait of the ways in which music soundtracked and shaped her teen and young adult years. Her callouts of favorite bands, albums, and songs will make readers want to cue up their own nostalgic playlists-good and loud, to be felt in the bones, the way the best music and memories should.The Hali'a Aloha Series publishes personal essays, memoir, poetry and prose. The series celebrates moments big and small, harnessing the power of short forms to preserve the lived experiences of the storytellers.

Passionate and adventurous, Kathy Clarke has always believed in her own abilities and refused to let one day go by without being lived to its fullest. Maybe that''s what happens when you''re accidentally shot point-blank with a .22 rifle at age three and a half and you live to tell about it.A challenging childhood prepared Clarke to accept life''s capriciousness. "It seemed like a really good idea at the time..." could be her life''s motto. "Good ideas" like dropping everything to strike out across the western plains in search of a meaningful relationship; acquiring a home menagerie consisting of multiple St. Bernards, a pissed-off cat, three turtles, a tortoise, a hamster named after a loser boyfriend and a housebroken baby goat; or building a career while raising seven children. In lively and humorous prose, Clarke invites readers of My Life Is a Road Atlas along for the ride as she recalls her nomadic childhood, a roster of not-so-forgotten lovers and the controlled chaos of being a mother of seven "decent and imperfect human beings"-oh, yes, and that time that she got shot. Compelled by the pandemic-induced Hawai''i visitor industry shutdown to finally sit still, Clarke spent her time writing her memoirs, causing some anxiety to her children. "Memories are how life teaches you when you are not looking," she muses. "In the next life, I hope I gain wisdom at a much younger age, considering how long it took me to acquire any this time around." Readers may not wish for a wiser Clarke, who one can only imagine would have fewer "good ideas" to laugh and cry over. The Hali''a Aloha Series publishes personal essays, memoir, poetry and prose. The series celebrates moments big and small, harnessing the power of short forms to preserve the lived experiences of the storytellers.