Constance Hays Matsumoto and Kent Matsumoto, co-authors of the new Japanese American WWII historical fiction Of White Ashes, will join other authors in an informative panel: “Inspired by Arkansas,” as part of the 2023 Jerome/Rohwer Pilgrimage program. Of White Ashes is inspired by the true stories of the authors’ family, and crosses oceans and cultures, illuminating the remarkable lives of ordinary people who endure seemingly unbearable hardship with dignity and patience. One of the main characters, a young girl, spent time in the Jerome incarceration camp.