Mary Matsuda Gruenewald lives in Seattle, Washington. She will be 80 years old in 2005 when this book is published. This is her first book and of considerable significance for her generation and as a Nissei. She will be breaking the silence of telling her story, in-depth, about her years imprisoned for being Japanese in America.
After being released from her last Japanese-American internment camp, Gruenewald became a registered nurse, and worked as an R. N. for more than a quarter of a century. She established the Consulting Nurse Service within the Group Health Cooperative in 1971, which has become a national model for numerous health care providers. In 2002 she was a medical delegate representing seniors on behalf of Medicare Plus Choice. At that meeting she was selected along with ten other delegates to advise President George W. Bush on health care issues.
Her articles regarding her internment during WW II have appeared in newspapers and she has presented commentaries for NPR KPLU. She speaks to many schools and community groups about her internment. Gruenewald received an Asian American Living Pioneer Award in 2003 honoring her contributions.
