Arc

"Arc: Life between Two Unwinnable Wars: WWII and ALS" is a memoir by a Japanese woman who was born during WWII and survived the A-bomb in Hiroshima. She grew up amid the aftermath of the unconditional surrender and witnessed how her native country rebuilt itself from a bombed-out wasteland to the world's second economic giant in 20 years. After graduating from Tokyo University of Arts, she came to America as a scholarship student and spent her adult life as a professional violinist. She married a German physicist/engineer who endured a traumatic childhood in WWII Germany. He lost his brother and his father was taken as a POW, consequently dying due to the hardship. Despite their tough beginnings in countries that are 5,500 miles apart, they managed to build successful careers, raise two children together, and enjoy rich and happy lives. This stretch of time the author calls "the Arc" expanded high above their trauma to create a beautiful and expansive circle over their lives. During their 46 years together, however, she witnessed how her husband's childhood exposure to war was even tougher than hers, leaving life-long adverse effects on him, psychologically and physically. Their arcs came to an end when an incurable disease, ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig's disease) afflicted her husband. For 21 months, the author cared for him until his death at home.