George Takei to Release Debut Picture Book 'My Lost Freedom'

Random House Children’s Books (RHCB) will publish MY LOST FREEDOM by Star Trek actor, activist, and icon George Takei, illustrated by Michelle Lee, it was announced by Phoebe Yeh, VP & Co-Publisher, Crown Books for Young Readers, and the book’s editor.

MY LOST FREEDOM is a firsthand account of his childhood years at three different incarceration camps. Yeh acquired world rights from Albert Lee at United Talent Agency, who represented the author, and Rosemary Stimola at Stimola Literary Studio, who represented the illustrator.

On February 19, 1942, George Takei’s life changed forever when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, authorizing the mass forced removal and incarceration of Americans and non-citizens of Japanese descent living on the West Coast. George Takei and his family and over 125,000 others were declared enemies of the United States, forcibly removed from their homes, and held in various places that ranged from temporary detention facilities to concentration camps.

MY LOST FREEDOM is Takei’s story about his years growing up in those camps. It is about how his parents kept THE FAMILY safe in their new “homes”—the Santa Anita racetrack, swampy Camp Rohwer, and desolate Tule Lake. Takei entered the camps at the age of five and would remain there until the conclusion of the war three years later, in 1945.

“My childhood behind barbed wire fences is the reason I became an activist,” says George Takei. “I have very vivid memories about what happened to me when the soldiers pounded on our door, how I was scared and how my parents helped my siblings and me to feel safe in our bewildering new homes.

It was clear that the story about the injustices Japanese Americans faced should also be told in a way that young children and their caregivers could understand. Especially in today’s political climate, my mission is to convey this chapter of American history to children so that we can all grow up knowing both the fragility and the importance of democracy and our participation in it.”

“It has been an honor to work with George Takei and illustrator Michelle Lee, whose detailed, painstakingly researched watercolor paintings so beautifully illuminate MY LOST FREEDOM,” says PHOEBE YEH.

“George is a born storyteller. He, his family, and the Japanese Americans who were incarcerated in camps during World War II are a part of the American story. His book is a timely reminder that there can still be bravery and defiance, humanity, and community under adverse circumstances. Crown is proud to publish MY LOST FREEDOM, a book that so richly embodies the American ideals of democracy.”

In MY LOST FREEDOM, George Takei looks back at his own memories to help children TODAY understand what it feels like to be treated as an enemy by your own country. Featuring powerful meticulously researched watercolor paintings, this is a story of a family’s courage, a young boy’s resilience, and the importance of staying true to yourself in the face of injustice.

About George Takei

George Takei (he/him) is a civil rights activist, social media superstar, Grammy-nominated recording artist, New York Times bestselling author, and pioneering actor whose career has spanned six decades.

He has appeared in more than forty feature films and hundreds of television roles, most famously as Hikaru Sulu in Star Trek, and he has used his success as a platform to fight for social justice, LGBTQ+ rights, and marriage equality. His advocacy is personal: during World War II, George spent his childhood unjustly imprisoned in US incarceration camps along with more than 125,000 other Japanese Americans.

He now serves as chairman emeritus and a member of the Japanese American National Museum’s board of trustees. George served on the board of the Japan–United States Friendship Commission and, in 2004, was conferred with the Gold Rays with Rosette of the Order of the Rising Sun by the emperor of Japan for his contribution to US-Japan relations.

About Michelle Lee

Michelle Lee (she/her) is an illustrator and author who has been drawing since she could hold a pencil. Her illustrated book My Love for You Is Always received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews and BookPage. As an Angeleno and an Asian American, Michelle felt a resonance with George’s story. She lives and works in the same area of Los Angeles where the story begins and ends.

Photo credit: Lorenzo Bevilaqua

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