e heart breaking? Part travelogue, part history, part romance and part Zen meditation, Make the Dark Night Shine sweeps over the reader with overlapping waves of emotion." -Viet Dinh"Make the Dark Night Shine beams with honesty while it explores the creation of chosen families. At its core, this story is a sweeping journey highlighting our humanity and our deep need for home, love and acceptance."-Corie Adjmi
Inspired by the author's family history, Make the Dark Night Shine is a love letter from a father to the daughter he never met.

In 1919, Kenzo Uchida and his partner Mitsu arrive in Constantinople to open the new Japanese Consulate. Kenzo meets Elisa, a feisty Ukrainian cigarette girl in a nightclub and she becomes his consort to hide his gay relationship while in Europe. The unlikely trio begin an adventure in the decadence of post-war Paris until disaster strikes.

Returning to the growing militarism in Japan, Kenzo finds an unexpected path in Zen Buddhism. Yet no teachings prepare him for the revelations to come - about his life, his loves, and the events around him. On the eve of WWII, he discovers that he has a daughter living with Elisa in New York. He leaves the monastery on a perilous mission to promote peace with a secret plan to reunite with his daughter Nina.

Cinematic in scope, this novel lyrically captures the world on the brink of war. As Kenzo builds - and fights for - his chosen family, larger forces threaten all. Sweeping, meditative, and achingly beautiful, Make the Dark Night Shine explores the many worlds a life can inhabit, and the hidden worlds we find in ourselves.