Coming soon from Ahadada Books — Masako’s Story: Surviving the Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima

On August 6, 1945, when the world’s first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, the Furuta family was living about one mile away from the hypocenter. Five-year-old Kikuko, her mother, Masako, and her two brothers barely escaped with their lives. However, their soldier father was not so fortunate. Masako never talked about her family’s experiences on that day and the days following the bombing. Then one day, Masako started to talk about what happened — breaking a silence of nearly fifty years . . .

Kikuko (Kay) Otake was five years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, August 6, 1945. In her book Masako's Story (forthcoming from Ahadada), she offers a survivor's perspective.

Professor Kikuko (Kay) Otake was born on February 22, 1940 in Osaka, Japan. She earned her B.A. from Tsuda College of Tokyo, Japan in 1962 in English Literature. In August of 1968, she came to the US and in September 1987 earned her M.A. in Education from California State University in Los Angeles.

Professor Otake is an award-winning poet who regularly publishes tanka and haiku.