Tokyo Reverie

After the end of a successful career, but one that has failed to fulfill her lifetime longing to live and work as an artist, a succession of random and serendipitous events prompts Lynda Grace Philippsen to head for Japan. There she begins the formal study of ikebana at Sogetsu Kaikan (Headquarters), in Tokyo.

Ikebana, the centuries-old, sophisticated and highly-nuanced sculptural art of arranging flowers, presents her with numerous challenges. Communication barriers, cultural blinkers, unfamiliar pedagogy, and confounding social codes are, at times, as daunting as the curriculum's demanding and enigmatic nature.

Like a bird on her shoulder, Lynda takes the reader along the kado (the way of flowers), in a way that is both eloquent and relatable. A fascinating and immersive experience, not only does her story, which is told with insight and candour, contain moments of profundity, but it is also laugh-out-loud-funny at times. And while she captures the energizing experience and ambience of Tokyo in vivid detail, she does not sugar-coat her struggles. Her voice remains refreshing, raw and real.

When COVID-19 interrupts her studies, forces a return to Canada and leaves her mourning the Tokyo life she must let go, Lynda discovers that the kado holds enlightening twists and turns of its own. Remarkable surprises beyond her imagination, leading to self-actualization, transformation and a new understanding of home.