This is a tale of love and bravery. Suzanne Kamata, a widely-published author, provides a memoir of her experiences as an American woman who is a long-term resident of Japan, married to a Japanese high school teacher and the mother of twins born prematurely. Her daughter Lilia, who is deaf and has cerebral palsy, is a feisty spirit who longs to have adventures and to see the world. 'Squeaky Wheels' describes the visit to Paris taken by mother and daughter. A heartwarming tale!
The author's dream of giving her daughter real-life experiences that she cannot get in her sheltered world in rural Japan comes to fruition when the two of them set out on an adventure to Paris. This takes place after a couple of shorter trips to museums and art exhibitions closer to home, where they discover the challenges and triumphs of travelling with a disability. This book was a real eye-opener for me.
The mother and daughter travel companions in this narrative venture to art museums in Osaka, Naruto, and Naoshima in Japan, Paris and Versailles in France, caves in Tennessee, and the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. Mainly featuring visits to art museums in Japan and France, this account celebrates both Japanese o.mo.te.na.shi hospitality and the abundance of random acts of kindness by strangers in France. The mother records the trips in words, and the daughter in pictures. The mother provides an enviable education for her daughter, and concludes with both a sense of accomplishment, and an affirmation of her daughter's growing independence.