After ten years of endless work and countless re-writes, I’m delighted to announce that Two Faces is now a published novel. Based on my own and a lifelong friend’s true experiences during

World War II, we principally began our book as a memoir for young adults. Using artistic license to age ourselves from the four-year-olds we actually were at the story’s onset, my co-author, Nina Wolpe, and I have recaptured our real-to-life experiences set in the voices of two ten-year-olds.

            Nina and I were both born in the San Joaquin Valley town of Merced, California.  Our story began in this quiet peaceful rural setting as the bombing of Pearl Harbor shatters the nation.

            Nina’s mother was a principal and teacher in a local elementary school, her father a county social worker. Following Pearl Harbor, her father enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps and was eventually stationed in England. In Two Faces, Nina’s story tells of disruptions the War visited upon millions of American families, the measures her mother took to keep her family safe and together, and how, despite every effort, wartime casualties and permanent change can come about in totally unexpected ways.

            My parents were established farmers in this Central Valley area. My father, a Japanese immigrant, was married to an American-born daughter of Japanese parents. Following Pearl Harbor our family was forcibly evacuated and imprisoned in an internment camp in Colorado.  My and my family’s story encompasses the upheaval caused by the evacuation, the humiliation of being identified as enemy aliens, and the embarrassment and shame of life surrounded by barbed wire fences and guard towers.

            Nina’s and my joint story is ultimately about friendship under the shadow of racial prejudice. When my family was forcibly interned, Nina and I remained in touch through letter writing. While our lives were dramatically and differently affected because of race, our friendship held true… in part, through the presence and power of our mothers. In the end, our friendship deepened, and we were sustained by the comfort and healing influence of family…

            Two faces is published by Mission Point Press, Traverse City, MI, and is available for pre-order now through Ingram Sparks and purchase through book sellers effective August 18, 2023.

Gordon H. Nagai

74 W 29^th Avenue, Apt. 1205

Eugene, OR 97405

Email: gordon@ghnagai.com