The Woman in the White Kimono

By: Ana Johns

Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller, Lauren Ezzo

Oceans and decades apart, two women are inextricably bound by the secrets between them.

Japan, 1957. Seventeen-year-old Naoko Nakamura’s prearranged marriage to the son of her father’s business associate would secure her family’s status in their traditional Japanese community, but Naoko has fallen for another man—an American sailor, a gaijin—and to marry him would bring great shame upon her entire family. When it’s learned Naoko carries the sailor’s child, she’s cast out in disgrace and forced to make unimaginable choices with consequences that will ripple across generations.

America, present day. Tori Kovac, caring for her dying father, finds a letter containing a shocking revelation—one that calls into question everything she understood about him, her family and herself. Setting out to learn the truth behind the letter, Tori’s journey leads her halfway around the world to a remote seaside village in Japan, where she must confront the demons of the past to pave a way for redemption.

In breathtaking prose and inspired by true stories from a devastating and little-known era in Japanese and American history, The Woman in the White Kimono illuminates a searing portrait of one woman torn between her culture and her heart, and another woman on a journey to discover the true meaning of home.

great read

I couldn't put it down. beautiful story!! I could visualize while listening and found the story to be very emotional...

so good

an amazing story told by a passionate narrator, definitely makes you feel alllll the emotions

Good book

I enjoyed the story however I wish it would have told more about what happened with jimmy while his wife was stuck in the maternity home. She never knew what happened to him. And the story didn’t say if he went looking for her.

The most beautiful, heartbreaking story I think I ever heard.

The ancient wisdom in this book is told in a beautiful, poetic voice. The main character’s voice is one of the strongest feminine voices I have found. Shocking and surprising historical backdrop for this book. The narration was excellent.

Awful narration

A great story— unfortunately the narration was just awful. I should have read this book vs listening to it.