Bento Box in the Heartland: My Japanese Girlhood in Whitebread America

Bento Box in the Heartland is a coming-of-age memoir telling the story of a young girl's struggle to assimilate in her tiny Indiana town as the only Asian student in her school. Each day, as she takes out her lunch, Linda Furiya feels self-conscious about her parents' insistence on sending their native Japanese cuisine in her lunch box. Looking around, she realizes that her lunches are different from her peers. Yet at the same time, the rice balls that her mother packs, rather than a sandwich like all of the other students, bring much comfort and delight to Furiya. Each chapter closes with a recipe of one of the author's most treasured meals. Bento Box in the Heartland is more than a story about food. Most importantly, it is the story of a young woman trying to find herself as the only Asian in her school during the 1960's. In addition, it is the story of growing up with immigrant parents and trying to figure out who she is, as well as better understanding her parents' connection to Japan. Beautifully written, Bento Box in the Heartland is a fantastic conflation of stories, recipes, and self-discovery.

This was an incredible journey for me as I lived two blocks from the Furiyas until 1977 when my family moved from Versailles, Indiana. I remember the family fondly and this book put the rest of the story to many of my childhood memories. I remember the summer Linda went to Japan and had always wondered what the trip was like. Now I know! I bought the book this morning and finished it this evening. It's a great read and I'm now looking forward to trying some of the recipes.

Furiya has a voice that is warm, approachable, and intimate. Reading her work, you feel in the company of a friend who also happens to be a masterful storyteller. She weaves a tale that's both exotic and profoundly American, one that combines family and food in a way that's lyrical but never sentimental. Wherever you grew up, and whatever you mother put in your lunchbox, this is a treat to savor.

this book was amazing! i gobbled it up....and then craved sushi all week. it will make you hungry for more. thanks Linda for sharing your story.

I adored this book and devoured it like delicious sushi! Even though I am not Japanese-American I felt so much of Linda's story rang true to me as I also grew up in the heartland during my early teens through college. It may not have been the "country" as it was a suburb of Cleveland; but there is a small town feeling in the mid-west that is unlike anywhere else in this country. It was difficult enough for me to adjust coming from the East Coast - never mind a family with roots in Japan! I especially identified with the cruelty of her classmates when she was young and then even later during a terrible occasion in high school that let her know no matter what - she was somehow, still on the outside, not accepted by her classmates. She must have felt very alone. There was so much pain that her parents endured, so much suffering and to watch the older, grown-up Linda identify this and come to terms with it with such eloquence and respect was heart-rending. Her characters are achingly real; I cared about them - even minor characters like her Grandmother and Aunt Jane. I cared about everyone who was a part of this experience, part of her experience. Linda never makes herself the hero of her own tale. In fact her harshest words are about herself and the regrets she has. What this book is ultimately is a stripped away volume of the truth of a life, of a time in a life. It is all laid bare and exposed with no saccharin, no filler, clean, beautiful, and natural, very much like the Japanese cuisine that is so much a part of the telling. As a passionate lover of Japanese food, the seamless integration of the role food played in her life and her family life makes this book a unique achievement. It's not a gushy foodie diatribe; but a rich first-person accounting of food as love.