A review by rsosolen
Where the Dead Pause, and the Japanese Say Goodbye: A Journey by Marie Mutsuki Mockett
5.0
'Where the Dead Pause, and the Japanese Say Goodbye' is a book anyone who is moving through grief themselves, or curious about Japanese culture, should read. Marie Mutsuki Mockett takes you on her personal journey of moving through, not only the crippling grief of losing her father, but the confusion and pain of the 2011 tsunami that devastated a country she considers one of her homes.
As a woman who is half Japanese she always felt deeply connected to Japan at the same time as feeling like a bit of an outsider. In this book she goes on an extended journey across Japan first visiting her family's temple, which is only 55 miles away from the nuclear meltdown. She explores the ruins of the tsunami, and takes to the survivors, the priests who are helping, and then sets out on her own personal spiritual and cultural journey to explore how the Japanese mourn, and how she herself can come to terms with her own grief.
This book is part travel guide, part history lesson, and part personal memoir--but that does not do it justice.
Reading Marie Mustuki Mockett's words was like talking to an old friend. It was as if her words took me gently by the hand and walked me through this magical journey of trying to understand the magic of another culture, the truth about death, and the way through ones grief.
As a woman who is half Japanese she always felt deeply connected to Japan at the same time as feeling like a bit of an outsider. In this book she goes on an extended journey across Japan first visiting her family's temple, which is only 55 miles away from the nuclear meltdown. She explores the ruins of the tsunami, and takes to the survivors, the priests who are helping, and then sets out on her own personal spiritual and cultural journey to explore how the Japanese mourn, and how she herself can come to terms with her own grief.
This book is part travel guide, part history lesson, and part personal memoir--but that does not do it justice.
Reading Marie Mustuki Mockett's words was like talking to an old friend. It was as if her words took me gently by the hand and walked me through this magical journey of trying to understand the magic of another culture, the truth about death, and the way through ones grief.