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Back This Time Will Be Different Save as PDF
Chapters (77)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. A Series of Screw-ups: The Chisaki Joan Katsuyama Story, Part I
  6. 3
  7. The History of My Beef with Brynn Foer-Preston
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. The History of the Katsuyama Family, Part I
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. A Brief History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Romantic Learning Opportunities, Part I
  16. 10
  17. 11
  18. 12
  19. A Brief History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Romantic Learning Opportunities, Part II
  20. 13
  21. The History of the Katsuyama Family, Part II
  22. 14
  23. 15
  24. 16
  25. 17
  26. 18
  27. 19
  28. The Complicated History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Imaginary Relationship with Her Nonexistent Dad
  29. 20
  30. 21
  31. 22
  32. A Brief History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Romantic Learning Opportunities, Part III
  33. 23
  34. 24
  35. 25
  36. A Brief, Backward History of the McAllister Family, as Paraphrased from the San Jose Mercury News
  37. 26
  38. 27
  39. 28
  40. A Quick and Eerily Relevant History of Asians in America
  41. 29
  42. 30
  43. 31
  44. 32
  45. 33
  46. 34
  47. 35
  48. 36
  49. A Brief History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Romantic Learning Opportunities, Part IV
  50. 37
  51. 38
  52. 39
  53. 40
  54. 41
  55. 42
  56. 43
  57. 44
  58. A Series of Screw-ups: The Chisaki Joan Katsuyama Story, Part II (Or Maybe It’s a Prequel)
  59. 45
  60. 46
  61. 47
  62. 48
  63. 49
  64. 50
  65. 51
  66. 52
  67. 53
  68. The History of the Katsuyama Family, Part III
  69. 54
  70. A Note from the Author
  71. Index of Flowers and their Meanings
  72. Acknowledgments
  73. About the Author
  74. Praise for This Time Will Be Different
  75. Books by Misa Sugiura
  76. Back Ad
  77. About the Publisher

Trey continues, “We are proud to tell you that one of our partners at McAllister VC, Michelle Katsuyama, is a descendant of one of those local Japanese American families.” He turns slightly and gestures at Mom, who smiles back at him, and then at the flashing cameras. She looks glamorous and sophisticated—like an actress playing a high-powered female business executive. The usual pride in my beautiful, accomplished mother clashes with indignation that she would align herself with these douchebags.

“Look at her hair,” says Hannah. “She probably hit the salon and got a professional blowout.”

“Michelle is a prime example of the incredible resilience, motivation, and work ethic of the Japanese American community,” says Trey. “They were able to overcome people’s racist attitudes, let their resentments go, focus on the positive, and succeed despite everything that history threw their way.”

At this, I groan. I’m so sick of the model-minority thing. There are kids who actually believe it’s true, that Asians are better and smarter than everyone else. And it makes kids like me feel extra defective, like I’m disappointing not only Mom but also the entire world. No wonder I have issues.

Trey doesn’t care about my issues, though. “Michelle’s grandfather started with virtually nothing and built a flourishing small business, and Michelle herself has risen through the ranks of our firm and is one of our most talented and hardworking people. I couldn’t be happier to work with someone of her fine caliber.” The McAllister people clap and smile, and Mom nods modestly and holds up her hand: Oh, no applause, really, you’re all too much.

I swear, if she says something in support of the McAllisters . . . But she doesn’t. I’m both relieved that she hasn’t gone full hypocrite, and angry that she’s agreed to be a silent prop.

Trey winds up his speech. “The McAllisters have long been committed to building a legacy of investing in organizations, research, and technology that make the world a better place. Moving forward, we intend to stay focused on our mission to actualize a brighter future for everyone.”

The video ends there and Hannah closes the window and looks at me. “Sweet pea,” she says, “your mother has sold her soul to the McAllisters.”

A Quick and Eerily Relevant History of Asians in America

Mid-1800s

Asians, mostly Chinese men, started immigrating to the United States in large numbers for the first time. They were seen as uneducated degenerates and criminals, here to steal jobs from hardworking white folks. (Sound familiar?)

White Americans blamed unemployment and declining wages on Chinese workers and demanded that Congress put an end to Chinese immigration.

1882