I am always inspired by Kathleen Burkinshaw - an American author and peace activist who wrote the book, 'The Last Cherry Blossom' as an educational tool for young people in the US who are interested in learning about Hiroshima.

The book is from the perspective of a 12 year old girl, Kathleen's mother, who survived the Atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945. The stories are so relatable of a young girl's family life, school and friendships- so many topics that students can relate to. Kathleen also introduces a lot of things about Japanese culture that students find interesting.

In this talk, Kathleen gives us some of the backstory of how and why she wrote the book, her relationships with her mother and daughter which inspired and informed the book as well as about her speaking engagements and reactions from teachers and young people.

See our first talk here in 2020: https://youtu.be/t2AQaUOO9rs

More information about Kathleen Burkinshaw on her website: https://kathleenburkinshaw.com/