In 1988, one month before my 24th birthday, I eagerly headed off to Japan to teach English at a Tokyo University. As is the case with many expatriates, my journey was less about working as a teacher (I had zero training), and more about fulfilling longings that couldn’t be addressed at home.

Longings, I had a bunch! I wanted to escape the routine of my post-college life, to have an epic adventure on the other side of the world, and to connect in spirit with my father—stationed in Japan during World War II—who had recently died.

Even more meaningful, perhaps, was my personal goal for my time abroad: I boldly decided I was going to write a novel.

My plotted-out strategy was straightforward.…

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