To paraphrase Iwao himself, Living With A Legend was not written through the hands, but through the heart.”

By Leslie E. Stern

I smiled through every page of Living With A Legend

“I smiled through every page of Living With A Legend, recognizing the very special man I was privileged to know, Iwao Takamoto, but seeing him through the highly personal perspective of someone who knew him so much better. Leslie Stern has not simply written a loving, funny, and poignant portrait of an important American artist, she has wonderfully set down the record of a unique American family, one whose strength came through its very diversity. To paraphrase Iwao himself, Living With A Legend was not written through the hands, but through the heart.”

Other Information

Number Of Pages: 130

Date Published: Oct 21, 2014

Publisher: TotalRecall Press

Publisher Website: www.totalrecallpress.com

Reviewer's Byline

Susan Roemer is currently teaching conversational Spanish to adult students. In her experiences of teaching English, Spanish, and ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) in elementary school, high school, and college, she has developed a unique and profound approach to language learning. Over the years she has worked in California, Mexico, and the DODDS (Department of Defense Dependents' Schools) in Germany. She has taught Spanish to native English Speakers; English to native Spanish speakers; proper Spanish to struggling native Spanish speakers; and written Spanish to illiterate native Spanish speakers as a precursor to teaching them English. She has taught students from preschool to senior citizens. While working for the Mexican federal government in Mexico City, "Licenciada Roemer", as she was known at the office, taught auditors how to write correct reports in Spanish. Very few individuals have taught a language in so many different contexts. This gives her an unusual perspective, combining the knowledge of how people learn generally with how to learn a language specifically. Susan came to understand the importance of providing the students with a way to see the language when they were not in a language laboratory or being instructed by a teacher. Susan Roemer received her B.S. in Elementary Education from the University of Minnesota and her M.A. in Intercultural Education from the University of the Americas (Universidad de las Americas) in Mexico City. She lived in Mexico City and Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico for 16 years, where she raised her family, and currently resides in Peoria, Arizona.


by Leslie E. Stern