Moon viewing/book event — Thursday, 8/27/26

In Japan, gathering to enjoy the beauty of the seasons—like cherry blossoms in spring and the full moon in autumn—is a centuries-old tradition.

At this event taking place under the August full moon in downtown Fargo, North Dakota, I will share music of the koto (Japanese zither), a Japanese folk dance and a reading from my re-released memoir, The Same Moon: a Young Woman’s Season of Entanglements in Rural Japan.

The Same Moon is my story of escaping the disappointments of my early twenties by running off to an isolated area of rural Japan in the mid 1990s.

I will share a bit of what it was like to be the first foreign English teacher in my rural Yamaguchi community plus a few life lessons from the two years I spent there.

Later, as the sky darkens, why not take a walk outside and enjoy a few moments with the full moon?