Wendy Noritake
Wendy was a periodicals publisher for corporations such as Group Health Cooperative, Thousand Trails, Wizards of the Coast, Trendwest Resorts/Wyndham Vacation Ownership. The magazines included VIEW, Trailblazer, Amazing Stories, Dragon Magazine, Dungeon Adventures, Star Wars Gamer, Top Gun, and The Duelist. She led teams of writers, editors, art directors, and designers, as well as staff in sales, circulation, marketing, and production.
She began writing in 2007, and her first published piece called “It’s Seaweed Weather” is about her childhood relationship with her grandfather, published by Lost Magazine. Other published stories are creative non-fiction, and most recently, about the marine life in Kohala. Her biggest endeavor has been writing and publishing a book called Finding Uncle Yosh which is about WWII and an uncle who fought in the Japanese-American 442nd RCT and died in the forests of the Vosges Mountains in Bruyeres, France. A short story about him can be found in an anthology called Secret Histories: Stories of Courage, Risk, and Revelation.
She is also an underwater photographer whose work can be found at the Olena Gallery in Hawi where she resides.
Wendy’s Published Books
Finding Uncle Yosh
Yoshito Noritake was a shining light with a promising life ahead of him. WWII broke out, and he and his family were suddenly charged as enemy aliens. His choice was to follow his family into a concentration camp complete with barbed wire and armed guards, or to join the armed forces with fellow Japanese-American prisoners to fight and to prove their loyalty. His niece Wendy, whom he had never met, heard his story and felt a duty to know who he was and how he died. Wendy had given up hope of ever finding a veteran who might have fought by Yosh's side. Those who were still alive and coherent would be in their 90s. Until the spring of 2017…
Secret Histories: Stories of Courage, Risk, and Revelation
Secret Histories captures the many faces of understanding, acceptance, and love. Self-discovery is never a solitary journey. To find our way, we depend upon the hard-earned wisdom of others who are brave enough to expose their deepest truths. As a guide to help readers navigate their own way through difficult situations and choices, Secret Histories offers rich insights into what it means to accept our limits and to transcend our greatest challenges.
