Book Launch: Indonesian treats, art and reading with author, Brian Kimmel

Book Launch: Indonesian food, art and a reading with author, Brian Kimmel and Seattle-Surabaya Sister City Association.

Come join us for a delightful lunch event with the talented author, Brian Kimmel. Dive into the world of Indonesian cultural and expressive arts while enjoying delicious food at Asia Pacific Cultural Center. This in-person event promises to be a unique experience where you can meet the author, ask questions, and mingle with fellow arts and culture enthusiast. Don't miss out on this fantastic opportunity to connect with a creative minds and savor some tasty treats!

RSVP by Friday, May 2 here or at aW5mbyB8IGJyaWFua2ltbWVsICEgY29t. Free. Donations accepted. Books and food to purchase at the event.

Learn about the culture and history of WWII Indonesia with co-author of Blue Skies, Troubled Waters: An American Twin’s WWII Odyssey in Minahasa, Indonesia. This is his grandma’s story. She was imprisoned by Japan’s forces in the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) after being deported there from America because of her father’s undocumented status.

Includes a book reading, sharing, and slides of recently uncovered maps and photos. Books to purchase at event.

About the Book

Blue Skies, Troubled Waters, tells the remarkable true story of twin sisters Ath and Kath, born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, in 1933, whose family is uprooted and deported to the jungles of Indonesia due to their father's undocumented status. Their new life is quickly shattered when, in 1941, Japan invades, and the family is imprisoned as civilian prisoners of war.

Co-authored by her grandson, this memoir blends Ath's personal narrative with newly uncovered historical records, maps, and photographs, bringing to life a forgotten chapter of history and the enduring spirit of survival.

Brian Kimmel is a second-generation multiheritage Dutch Indonesian American and third grandchild to Pacific Northwest author, Martha Walandouw Lohn. He co- authored Lohn's memoir, Blue Skies, Troubled Waters, edited the first Indonesian language version, and has a published chapter in Transcending: Trans Buddhist Voices (North Atlantic Books) and Dancing With The Dharma: Movement and Dance in Western Buddhism. A Buddhist teacher ordained by Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Thích Nhất Hạnh, Kimmel incorporates decades of engagement with deep songs and light-hearted banter.

Martha Walandouw Lohn was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey to a naturalized American Polish Mama who escaped the Russian occupation of Poland in the 1920s and an undocumented Minahasan-Indonesian Papa who disembarked a Dutch military ship in New York and never reboarded—Lohn is not just an author; she's a living testament to resilience and the human spirit.

As a survivor of World War II's Japanese occupation of Indonesia, formerly known as the Dutch East Indies, and as a child who saw her father getting deported from the United States, Lohn's experiences have become a wellspring of inspiration for her writing. Her evocative storytelling captures the nuances of history, weaving together the threads of personal experience with the grand tapestry of global events.

Info: Brian will be sharing about the release of his new memoir he co-authored with his grandma on WWII Indonesia.

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