The Six-Foot Bonsai

Book excerpt: What's at stake when a woman from Michigan-who's always stood out at six feet tall-tries to fit in on a remote island in Japan? Stacy Gleiss's captivating memoir answers just that. After a childhood defined by a horrific car accident, Gleiss spends years trying to regain a sense of identity; eventually making her way across the globe where she falls in love with the enchanting culture of Japan. But as Gleiss becomes increasingly immersed in the Japanese way of life-first as a teenage bride and then as a mother-she discovers this faraway land isn't as perfect as she first imagined. The Six-Foot Bonsai goes behind closed doors in a traditional Japanese family during the 1980s and '90s, uncovering harsh truths. Gleiss must learn how to transform herself into the ideal Japanese housewife in a culture that holds females to particularly high standards. At the same time, a shocking revelation about her husband tests everything Gleiss once thought she believed in. A detailed look at the Japanese traditions of marriage, womanhood, and child exploitation, The Six-Foot Bonsai is an intimate account of what it's like to discover a new place while also discovering yourself. "Only someone like Stacy Gleiss, once immersed in a mysterious, all-encompassing, and nearly-cultic culture, could write a book with the authenticity and heart of The Six-Foot Bonsai . Her vulnerability to the aching losses of everything she loved, described dispassionately and with great detail, paves the way for a surprising redemption in the end."Dr. Latayne C. Scott, author of books on cults, including The Mormon Mirage