Author Karin K. Jensen will discuss her book, The Strength of Water: An Asian American Coming of Age Memoir. The story begins in 1920s Detroit and vividly illuminates her mother’s journey to wartime China — and back — in a powerful memoir of identity, survival, and hope that humanizes the immigrant experience. Much of the second half of the book takes place in the East Bay, where historic Oakland sites like the Ming Quong Home, Pland’s Restaurant at MacArthur/Broadway, and the Paradise Café next to the Paramount Theater form the settings. The Strength of Water received a coveted starred Kirkus review and was named to Kirkus’s annual list of the top 100 indie books. 

Karin K. Jensen is a local news writer for the Alameda Post. She has won NewsBreak editorial awards, including on the topics of #StopAsianHate and #AAPI Voices. For her work, Authority Magazine named her a social impact author.