Breaking the code : a father's secret, a daughter's journey, and the question that changed everything

Format:

Book

Title:

Breaking the code : a father's secret, a daughter's journey, and the question that changed everything

Author:

Fisher-Alaniz, Karen.

ISBN:

9781402261121

Publication Information:

Physical Description:

xiv, 316 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm

Summary:

Karen Fisher-Alaniz grew up barely listening to her father's stories of his childhood and of his time in the Navy, but on his 81st birthday, her father gave her two notebooks containing more than 400 pages of letters written to his parents during World War II. It was only then that she discovered the man she never knew and his secret role in the war.

Personal Subject:

Fisher, Murray William, 1921-

Fisher, Murray William, 1921--Correspondence.

Fisher-Alaniz, Karen.

Fisher-Alaniz, Karen. (OCoLC)fst01991309

Fisher, Murray William, 1921- (OCoLC)fst01991311

Subject(s):

World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American.

World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- Pacific Area.

World War, 1939-1945 -- Cryptography.

Sailors -- United States -- Biography.

Fathers and daughters -- United States -- Biography.

Geographic Term:

Pacific Area.

United States.

Genre:

Personal narratives.

Personal correspondence.

Biographies.

Personal narratives -- American.

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Silver Falls Library	940.54 FISHER-ALANIZ	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

On his 81st birthday, without explanation, Karen Fisher-Alaniz's father placed two weathered notebooks on her lap. Inside were more than 400 pages of letters he'd written to his parents during WWII. She began reading them, and the more she read, the more she discovered about the man she never knew.

They began to meet for lunch every week, for her to ask him questions, and him to provide the answers. It was through this process that she discovered the secret role he played in WWII. Karen's father was part of a small and elite group of men who were trained to copy and break top-secret Japanese code transmitted in Katakana.

Through this journey, with painful memories now at the forefront of his thoughts, Karen's father began to suffer, making their meetings as much about healing as discovery. Thus began an unintended journey--one taken by a father and daughter who thought they knew each other--as they became newly bound in ways that transcended age and time.

Author Notes

Karen Alaniz is an author and writer, who began the journey of writing this memoir when her father handed her a collection of letters on his 81st birthday. She lives in Walla Walla, WA.

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

On his 81st birthday, Murray Fisher, a WWII veteran, gave his daughter Karen 400 letters he'd sent home to his family during the war. Growing up, as freelance writer Fisher-Alaniz tells in this engaging memoir, she had heard her father's stories about his office job while stationed in Hawaii in the 1940s, but was never interested enough to ask questions. Then, as an adult, she realized that although he'd been a loving parent, what she knew about him filled up a single page-until she received the letters. Her curiosity sparked, she decides to make her way through her father's vivid letters and suddenly has many questions, including why her father was so determined not to talk about his wartime experiences. While attempting to unearth her father's past, she finds the opportunity to establish a new relationship. They begin having weekly lunches and visits, and her father opens up, revealing he'd actually been in naval intelligence as a Japanese code breaker, shipping overseas to Iwo Jima. As Fisher-Alaniz and her father continue their conversations , she hears a devastating secret her father has been holding onto for 60 years, and with which she must now deal. (Dec.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Kirkus Review

Debut memoirist Fisher-Alaniz offers a sensitive account of how she helped her war-veteran father confront a traumatic memory he had carried with him for more than 50 years.On the day Murray Fisher turned 81, he gave the author two notebooks filled with more than 400 pages of letters he had written to his parents while he was stationed at Pearl Harbor during World War II. Baffled, the author took it upon herself to not only read and transcribe his letters (several of which appear in the book) but to understand the motivations behind her father's unexpected gesture. She knew he had served in the Navy and that he had "spent his days working in an office." She did not know, however, that he had been trained to copy Katakana, the code the Japanese military had used to communicate top-secret information. Her father could never speak of his work to outsiders because "anyone could be a spy." In March 1945, Fisher and a fellow code breaker and friend were sent to Okinawa, where a shrapnel wound killed the friend. Fisher's grief and guilt were so intense that he suffered a temporary breakdown. This story of an adult child learning to understand a parent she thought she knew is simple and unpretentious.While the narrative lacks literary finesse, it is nevertheless commendable for how it breaks thesilence surrounding PTSD. "Whether the veteran returned from war sixty years ago or six days ago," she writes, "one thing remains constant: it's time for us to talk and to listen."Not the most elegant memoir, but a genuine tale told from the heart.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

As the Greatest Generation steadily dwindles, it becomes more imperative to chronicle their experiences. Thanks in large part to Ken Burns and the Library of Congress Veterans History Project, many heretofore reluctant veterans have been interviewed, but there are still countless others with stories to tell. After her aging father inexplicably gave her a cache of letters he had written to his parents during the war years, Fisher-Alaniz accompanied her father on an often traumatic but ultimately illuminating journey into his past. Shocked to learn that her reticent father had played a significant role in cracking katakana, the Japanese military code, she began meeting regularly with him to learn more about his war years. Breaking their own code of silence, father and daughter reach across the decades, recording an important chapter in history and forging a long-overdue personal bond.--Flanagan, Margaret Copyright 2010 Booklist

Preface	p. ix
A Word About Words	p. xi
Acknowledgments	p. xiii
Chapter 1 Healing Waters	p. 1
Chapter 2 A Line in the Sand	p. 5
Chapter 3 Between the Lines	p. 13
Chapter 4 Across the Years	p. 21
Chapter 5 Tell Me a Word	p. 37
Chapter 6 Two Questions, One Answer	p. 53
Chapter 7 Wednesdays with Murray	p. 63
Chapter 8 By Design	p. 73
Chapter 9 Searching for Answers	p. 87
Chapter 10 Limbo	p. 97
Chapter 11 Nightmares Return	p. 107
Chapter 12 When I Get Home	p. 113
Chapter 13 Pieces	p. 123
Chapter 14 Pearl	p. 129
Chapter 15 Iwo Jima	p. 141
Chapter 16 Katakana	p. 151
Chapter 17 Women Folk	p. 159
Chapter 18 Church	p. 167
Chapter 19 Breakdown	p. 173
Chapter 20 Secrets	p. 181
Chapter 21 Remembering	p. 189
Chapter 22 Mourning	p. 201
Chapter 23 Lost Time	p. 211
Chapter 24 Office Work	p. 221
Chapter 25 Life or Death	p. 229
Chapter 26 A Blurred Line	p. 239
Chapter 27 Write Your Mother	p. 251
Chapter 28 Anticipating the End	p. 261
Chapter 29 The Bomb	p. 267
Chapter 30 Waiting	p. 279
Chapter 31 Finding the Words	p. 287
Chapter 32 Intentional Time of Remembrance	p. 295
Chapter 33 Never Good-Bye	p. 305
Afterword	p. 315
About the Author	p. 319

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Bound With These Titles

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Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Kirkus Review

Booklist Review

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