‘Beyond Heart Mountain” is now an audiobook

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Buy the “Beyond Heart Mountain” audiobook.

Beyond Heart Mountain by Alan O’Hashi is now an audiobook. Buy it today from Rakuten Kobo.

The story is an offbeat memoir of the American West based on his childhood in Cheyenne, Wyoming, after World War II and his experiences living around the state until he moved to Boulder, Colorado, circa 1993.

Alan’s original story is available on the Boulder Community Media website. He relates his experiences in the context of the current social and cultural divides prevalent in the United States today and the consequential need for greater civility.

Social change happens one person at a time. After Pearl Harbor was bombed on December 7, 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which established the War Relocation Authority that ordered 120,000 Japanese-Americans to uproot and be transported by train to 10 relocation centers.

Japanese, including Alan’s family members, who resided in the U.S. interior, including Wyoming and Colorado, were considered “Interned in place.” They avoided life in camps like Heart Mountain near Yellowstone National Park and Granada in Southeast Colorado.

Nonetheless, Alan and his family were still subject to the subtle and overt racism toward Japanese residents during and after the War. He recounts his experiences and weaves them with the history of the once vibrant Japanese neighborhood in the 400 and 500 blocks of West 17th Street in downtown Cheyenne.

Beyond Heart Mountain speaking, documentary screening events

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May is Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month.  Beyond Heart Mountain author and filmmaker Alan O’Hashi will be on the road showing his documentary and speaking about his memoir. The program is entitled, Civility, Culture, Community, All times Mountain Daylight Time. To schedule an event, please send us an email.

May 18 – Riverton and Dubois Libraries, documentary screenings at 7 p.m.

May 18 – Powell Library in Powell, Wyoming, at 7 p.m.

May 19 – Heart Mountain Interpretive Center, between Cody/Powell Wyoming at 6 p.m.

TBD – Sheridan Stationery, Books and Gallery, Sheridan, Wyoming, between 4 and 6 p.m.

June 3 to 5 – Wyoming Writers Inc. Conference, Sheridan, Wyoming – Book signing

June 22 – Lander Art Center Outdoor Movie, screening of Beyond Sand Creek TBD

June 25 – Thermopolis Book store – 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

July 10 – Wyoming International Film Festival, Cheyenne, Wyoming – 2 p.m.

July 13 – Boulder Bookstore, Boulder, Colorado – 6:30 p.m.

July 19 – Laramie County Library, Cheyenne, Wyoming – 7 p.m.

August 8 – Lander Pioneer Museum, Lander, Wyoming TBD

August 9 – Sidekicks Book Bar, Rock Springs, Wyoming – 7 p.m.

August 10 – Centennial Library, Centennial, Wyoming – 7 p.m.

Sawagi! Raising a Ruckus for Japan April 26th

Click the image to contribute for your Sawagi! Raising a Ruckus for Japan tickets

“SAWAGI! Raising a Ruckus for Japan,” a silent auction and original musical drama performance will generate funds to send clean drinking water from Boulder to Japan’s earthquake victims. ANYONE can participate from ANYWHERE, sending water and a message of inspirational hope, boosting the morale of the victims, as well as citizens throughout Japan.

Click on the Sawagi! image on the left to make a suggested donation for tickets.

SAWAGI! (rhymes with “a froggy!”) will be presented at 5:30 pm, Tuesday, April 26…, at Naropa University, Nalanda Events Center, Boulder, Colorado. Suggested donations for tickets are $35/$20 Students. You can attend in spirit by not drinking bottled water for a month and donating the money saved (or some ideal amount) to the cause! Auction items and more information can be found at www.naropa.edu/japanbenefit/.

Fundraising efforts for the event include ticket sales, a live silent auction and benefactor sponsorships and donations. With a fund-raising goal of $100,000, donations will are being solicited both locally and nationally. 100% of the net proceeds will go to purchase and deliver desperately needed clean water to Japan’s earthquake victims. The event will include volunteer performances by prominent Boulder artists, including the bands Shrefé (Greek/Balkan) and Ginga (Brazilian), Ty Burhoe (tablas), Yoko Hiraoka (Japanese strings and voice) and others in an original musical drama created along the lines of Japan’s classical Noh Theater by international shakuhachi master Kansuke II (David Wheeler) and co-directed by international actor/director Ami Dayan.