Baachan

Book Synopsis: A vulnerable and uplifting memoir about the author, Sharnie Fenn, and her sassy Japanese grandmother, Baachan, and how her life-changing advice helped her navigate growing up Japanese-Australian and overcoming her crippling identity crisis, healing from an abusive relationship and learning how to find her voice and to live shamelessly.

In this raw and emotional anecdote, Sharnie finds herself stuck and defeated. She was a healthy 25-year-old who at times, wanted nothing but to change places with her arthritis-ridden, widowed Baachan because she radiated with life. During their phone calls and her visits to Japan, Sharnie noted down the thought-provoking advice and powerful words of encouragement that Baachan would casually slip between conversations in an attempt to absorb her mindset. Between gossip about her elderly neighbours or recent news about the Japanese Emperor, Baachan never failed to pass important life lessons about family, letting go, seeking help, life partners and on being alone.

What makes Baachan so alluring is that behind the gentle, frail Japanese grandmother, there was once a girl who survived World War II, a girl who single-handedly cared for her disabled mother, a teenager who dropped out of school and worked tirelessly to bring home enough rice, a woman who lost her husband to terminal cancer and now lives all alone in a two-storey, creaking home, content. At 84-years-old, she still paints her nails bright pink even though she isn’t going anywhere and eats chocolate-covered strawberries in bed and despite the heartbreaks and tragedies of her life, is happy.

Complete with family photos, cute illustrations of Baachan, an insight into interesting Japanese traditions and culture, and beautiful Japanese proverbs, Baachan is a heartfelt book that resonates, inspires and uplifts.

Please Note: This is the colour-print version. Illustrations throughout the book will be printed in colour.