Farewell to Manzanar: A True Story of Japanese American Experience During and After the World War II Internment

Reflecting on her time in Manzanar, Jeanne realizes that shame pervaded her post-camp life. Overall, it took Jeanne 20 years to work through her feelings about her time in the concentration camp. Regardless, she continued to focus on her future, becoming the first person in her family to both finish university and marry a non-Japanese person.

Although Jeanne and her family frequently talked about visiting the camp, they always avoided going, usually using humor to discuss their time there. At times, she began to wonder if her experience in Manzanar was real; after she left, there was very little public awareness of the camps. Jeanne recalls an incident where an older white woman spat on her and Kiyo while hurling racist insults at them. Although she and her brother remembered this event, they never spoke of it. Some years later, Jeanne met a woman who worked as a photographer in Manzanar; however, Jeanne could not find the strength to speak with her.

In 1972, Jeanne, her husband, and her children visited the camp. When they arrived at the site, they saw that none of the camp structures remained except for a few gatehouses. Jeanne and her family found a white obelisk with graves—a monument to those who died while imprisoned at Manzanar.