Award-Winning Author Alan Brennert Visits Mission Viejo

Award-winning writer, Alan Brennert, visited a packed City Hall in Mission Viejo on Wednesday night to discuss his highly anticipated book, Daughter of Moloka’i . His latest novel is the historical fiction sequel to the book club favorite, Moloka'i, which was published in 2003 and chronicled the lives of those affected by leprosy, specifically a young woman named Rachel. Daughter of Moloka’i continues the story by filling in a 22-year gap in Moloka’i where Rachel’s daughter, Ruth, grows up and lives her life apart from her biological family.

After reading the Prologue from the new book, Brennert took questions from the audience that included topics from his writing process to hints on any future publications. The author said his most asked question after the success of Moloka’i was “what happened to Sister Catherine?” and he promised that the readers would have an answer in this sequel.

Brennert moved to Southern California from New Jersey in 1973. His connection with Hawai’i was sparked at just 10-years-old when he read Dennis the Menace Goes to Hawai’i and was intrigued by the islands. When he had the opportunity to visit Hawai’i for the first time in 1980, he was hooked and thus began his reoccurring visits where he read extensively about the history and people of the islands. His writings are deeply intrenched with historical facts that were gained through countless hours of research in the Hawai’i State Archives where he viewed documents from the Kingdom to present day, often on old microfilm. For Daughter of Moloka’i, Brennert researched the Japanese internment camps by spending time in the archives at Sacramento State College and the Sacramento and San Jose libraries.

Several of the fans at the event with personal ties to Hawai’i commented on the authenticity of his writings and Brennert’s passion for the islands is very apparent through his stories. The love for Hawai’i, specifically Maui, is so deep that Brennert and his wife are looking to relocate there later this year.