– Posted in Colombo: A Glance at Toiling Women and Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka: a memoir on social and labor issues the author dealt with at official and personal levels during her three-year assignment as director of the ILO Colombo Office in the midst of the civil war (CreateSpace, 2010).
From the back cover blurb:
A fascinating memoir that deciphers the tragic civil war in Sri Lanka as well as the complex ethnic composition of Sri Lankan society, Posted in Colombo by Shizue Tomoda, a former director of ILO’s Colombo Office, is a story of pain, toils, agony, and light. It addresses social and labor issues of vulnerable women workers, such as garment workers in export processing zones and migrant workers employed mostly as housemaids in the Middle East, as well as the miserable plight of hundreds of thousands of Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka.
Against the backdrop of women workers struggling to escape from poverty, Shizue Tomoda sheds light on how such women workers can be lifted out of despair by helping them become more confident and self-assured, enabling them to aspire to modest goals and adopt a more positive outlook for the future. Shizue Tomoda shows that this slow but steady transformation of women becoming empowered and taking an increasingly greater role in society is a key to socioeconomic development.
–Sachiko: a novel partly based on the author’s upbringing in the post-war Japan and her new life and coming-of-age in the U.S. during its great social upheaval, which broadened her outlook in life and strengthened her as an individual as well as a woman (Booksurge, 2007).
From the back cover blurb:
Luminous and intuitive, this book by author Shizue Tomoda entertains romance readers as much as it evens the score against typical love stories. Told in a narrative that is both heartbreaking and wild, one young Japanese girl throws caution to the wind as she takes on life, love, and coming-of-age as a high school and college student in the United States.
Set during the Viet Nam era and the Civil Rights Movement, Sachiko’s journey blends telling messages on the human experience and the inner search for truth. Held taut in the arms of an unforgiving world yet determined to become a woman that loves with her whole heart, she bows tenderly to the whims of the world and is strengthened by its torrents.
–Taro and Tomi: My Feline Son and Daughter: a sweet memoir describing the process of how the author formed a lovely family with her two adopted cats Taro and Tomi (Booksurge, 2007).
From the back cover blurb:
First Taro, then Tomi, brightens the author’s life and the pags of a breathtakingly subtle and sweet debut that will delight cat lovers. The fact is you can learn a lot from a cat. Author Shizue Tomoda sets out to show just that in Taro and Tomi: My Feline Son and Daughter, which serves a beautiful portrait of the simple life.
With a lovely and even-paced prose, this fully illustrated autobiographical memoir shares the true tale of three furry tails and their adopted mother. Each of over forty chapters reads as a separate essay and carries a friendly, heartfelt message on family, finding balance, and keeping the faith. From a battle with fleas and Sunday morning bath rituals to playing the piano, the author falls madly in love with her adopted brethren of kittens and learns a thing or two about the sort of person she wants to be.
Shizue Tomoda 