Born and raised in the village of Kapoho on the Big Island of Hawai'i, Frances H. Kakugawa is an internationally published author of sixteen books, who has received numerous awards from literary and family caregiving organizations-among them, the Hawai'i Book Publishers Association, Northern California Publishers & Authors, Mom's Choice Awards, Sunrise Ministry Foundation, California Writers Club and Hawai'i Pacific Gerontological Society. She has also been recognized by the Hawai'i Japanese Women's Society Foundation as one of the Outstanding Women of the 20th Century in Hawai'i. Frances has taught at schools in Michigan, Micronesia and Hawai'i, where she was a curriculum writer, teacher trainer and lecturer in the College of Education at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. She is a columnist for the Hawai'i Herald-the Dear Frances advice column for caregivers-and gives lectures, workshops and readings to schools and community groups nationwide on the subjects of caregiving, teaching, writing and poetry. She also facilitates a writing support group for caregivers in Sacramento, California, where she lives.
