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Megumi
Born in Illinois,
but raised in Japan for 7 years (ages 3-10)
and California (age 10 on) by a Japanese mother and a Caucasian American father,
Megumi (legal name: Grace Fleming) grew up as the oldest of five children.
She adapted to this bicultural, bilingual, and turbulent family
by finding and emulating role models in real life and in stories.
As a little girl, Megumi adored innovative and daring girls and women who were unafraid to tackle problems. She loved learning from strong girls and women like Helen Keller, Pippi Longstocking, Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, as well as her family housekeeper and her grandmother.
As an adult, Megumi worked as a bilingual counselor and hypnotherapist for 10 years in the United States and Japan. She often told her clients stories of heros and heroines who discovered their wit, strength, and humor, and used them to overcome obstacles. Clients who identified deeply with these heros and heroines then were able to face their own challenges.
Later, when Megumi realized she could be a storyteller, she happily changed careers! She delights in telling Japanese Folk Tales she fondly remembers from her childhood. She is also passionate about telling World War II Japanese American Internment Camp Stories based on dozens of interviews she has conducted with former internees, who she admires greatly.
Megumi believes that even the simplest of folktales carry messages encouraging us to face our fears, heal our wounds, and awaken our natural gifts. She finds similar messages in
stories of how the Japanese Americans endured severe injustices
during World War II,
and later successfully convinced the U.S. government
to apologize and provide restitution.
Blessed. Megumi is grateful for her husband, teenage son, friends, and family, with whom she shares a love of stories, outdoors sports, and good food.
View Megumi's Curriculum Vitae: HTML.
View Megumi's Resume for "Japanese American Detention Stories of Strength and Hope" HTML.