Charmaine Aserappa

pray 4 peace +

At a time of extreme stress, Charmaine Aserappa was unexpectedly granted a divine moment of peace and profound understanding, shared in her first book, In a Japanese Garden (Council Oak Books, San Francisco, USA 1999, with woodcuts by Akiko Naomura). That fleeting moment is non-fiction: it really happened. The author then interpreted and shared that rare gift in her own words, inspired by the teachings of the New Testament in the Holy Bible.

Dedicated to the greater glory of God at historic Christ Church Bay Ridge in Brooklyn, New York, In a Japanese Garden was launched in a community zen garden in Bay Ridge, which the author designed as a microcosm of the surrounding skyscrapers and the Bay.

"No place, however retired and lovely, can give shelter, unless Christ himself stands by, to help, strengthen, console, instruct and guard us. For without him, all things that seem to possess peace and bliss are nothing, and bring in truth no blessedness at all".

-- Thomas a Kempis, Imitation of Christ

The zen garden was later re-dedicated by the Mayor as the Zen Garden for Peace, a memorial to the many Bay Ridge victims of the World Trade Center disaster. Honey bee hives have now been installed on the garden's rocks, honouring the life-sustaining function of bees, and "Honey from the Rock" (Psalm 81:16). Bees store their honey in clefts of the rocks , and so turn the most unyielding part of the land to good account. The Lord can do great things for those who obey him, and sweetness can come from great hardship.

Blessed and launched, the book In a Japanese Garden went on to become a Top Ten Gift Book (Publishers Weekly Booksellers Choice), a five-star international bestseller in many categories, and a 'Most Wished For' and 'Most Gifted' Book, winning excellent reviews. For years it was the Number One Bestseller in Gardening Books on Amazon.uk, is in the British Library, among other distinguished libraries, and is the second-bestselling book of all time, on Japanese Gardens. It is taught in Montessori Schools, and other schools, as an example of clear and concise writing.

Readers all over the world have written to say that In a Japanese Garden has helped them to heal from stress, anxiety, loss, grief and illness. The book is well-known in peace and environmental circles, and the author has read it at Yale University, Brooklyn Botanic Gardens,

Keats House in London, the Oxford Bookshop in India, and other high profile venues in different countries. It has been used for crafted signage in a hospice garden in California, for healing in mental health hospitals in New York, and has been recommended by the International Association of Professional Chaplains. The author rightly credits all glory and all healing to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Charmaine Aserappa is the mother of a highly gifted adult son, who is a Dean's List Top Scholar university graduate. She is the daughter of an English headmistress and a Sri Lankan airline pilot. Born and educated in India, she was named Alumni of the Month by her University. From earliest childhood, she has had a keen appreciation of nature, nurtured by her family's involvement with wildlife and conservation, and has won many prizes for writing.

A former Publicity Director at some of the world's finest book publishing houses in Toronto, London, and New York, she later recruited foster homes for inner city children in New York, and campaigned for human rights, including for those of the millions oppressed by the caste system of India.

She has worked on several conservation projects, including writing the script of a wildlife conservation film.

IN A JAPANESE GARDEN was created by four women: the author and educator Charmaine Aserappa, the illustrator Akiko Naomura, the designer Renee Khatami, and the literary agent, Maureen Graney. Their backgrounds span many countries including England, the United States, Sri Lanka, India, Japan, Persia, France and Ireland. IN A JAPANESE GARDEN, which has been called "a garden in itself" (Acadiana Advocate) is a microcosm of peaceful international co-operation, and its peace ripples outward to the world.

Charmaine Aserappa's second book, Message in the Sand (CANVAS, Manila 2008, with paintings by award-winning artist Roel Obemio), was cited Number One of the "Top Seven Books that Inspire Kids to Love the Ocean", on World Oceans Day, June 8 2018. A children's eco-art book about marine conservation, Message in the Sand benefits the Pacific Rim Parks Project. It was commended by the International Maritime Organization / United Nations, has been declared Required Reading for Public Schools by the Department of Education for the Philippines. It is now on the curriculum for ten of thousands of the United Nations/ Human Rights Council THINK EQUAL Early Learning Centres in Asia, including Sri Lanka, to teach non-violent conflict resolution.

Message in the Sand is in Yale University Library, among other libraries worldwide. The author reads Message in the Sand, and teaches Creative Writing from it, and from In a Japanese Garden, at schools. She hopes the free online book of Message in the Sand will reach every child in the world, to help preserve our waterways and oceans. She appeals to readers to spread the word to educators in every country, that the download of colourful Message in the Sand is FREE, so any school can use it.

She is very grateful to, and prays for, all who read and support her books.

In keeping with the teachings of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of the environment and all creatures, the author states:

I STAND WITH CONSERVATIONISTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS EVERYWHERE.

GOD CREATED CLEAN AIR, CLEAN SOIL, AND CLEAN WATER FOR ALL LIVING BEINGS, AND AND INSTRUCTED HUMAN BEINGS TO BE WISE STEWARDS OVER THESE WONDERFUL GIFTS.

WE ALL HAVE A RIGHT TO LIVE OUR LIVES IN PEACE, WITHOUT

POISONS, POLLUTION, THE DESTRUCTION OF HABITATS, BULLYING, VIOLENCE, AND WAR.

WE ALL HAVE A SACRED DUTY TO DEFEND OURSELVES, AND THE CHILDREN OF THE WORLD, AGAINST THESE ENEMIES OF OUR WELL-BEING, AND TO PRESERVE OUR LIVES, OUR SOULS, AND THE FUTURE OF OUR PLANET.

----- Charmaine Aserappa: Author of "In a Japanese Garden" & "Message in the Sand".