From The Asian Reporter, V29, #22 (November 18, 2019), page 7.

NEW YORK (AP) — Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawai‘i, the senate’s first Asian-American woman and only current immigrant, is working on a memoir.

Viking announced that the book, currently untitled, will be released in 2021.

Hirono, age 72, will write about emigrating at age eight to the United States after her mother fled an abusive marriage in Japan. In a statement issued through Viking, Hirono said the book was a tribute to her mother’s spirit.

"My deep emotional connection to my mother, a remarkable woman who made a hard choice to save her children, and who valiantly struggled to care for us as a single parent, is the current that has driven my entire life," Hirono said in a statement. "Now, because she can no longer bear witness for herself, I am choosing to bear witness on her behalf by telling the story of the daughter she inspired to live boldly and to fight for the promises of this country."

Hirono, a Democrat, is currently serving her second term in the senate. She made news last year as a leading critic of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who faced allegations of sexual harassment and attempted assault. Kavanaugh, who was narrowly confirmed, denied the allegations.