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We break cycles not by blaming the past, but by transforming the present.

Home is Where War Starts and Peace Begins

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We are living in a moment of profound change. Across families, communities, and nations, people are navigating uncertainty, division, and a deep longing for connection, healing, and peace. Beneath the noise of the world lies a universal question: How do we break the cycles that have shaped our lives for generations and create a different future?

Home Is Where War Starts and Peace Begins offers a transformative answer: lasting peace does not begin in governments, institutions, or systems. It begins within us. It begins in our homes, our relationships, our histories, and the stories carried in our hearts and bodies.

This book is an invitation to a different kind of revolution, an inner revolution. Through reflection, healing, and courageous self-discovery, it reveals how tending to our personal wounds can transform families, communities, and ultimately the world around us.

At its core, this is a book about hope. It reminds us that the path to peace is not somewhere beyond our reach. It begins where we are, with the choices we make, the stories we heal, and the love we cultivate every day.

Because when peace takes root in the human heart, it becomes possible everywhere.                               
Home is where war starts. Home is where peace begins.

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  • ❝Home Is Where War Starts and Peace Begins is beautifully written and devastating in its portrayal of the many forms of abuse that far more children than most of us realize carry silently in their backgrounds. Yet this book is more than a memoir. It is a blueprint for transformation—not only for individuals seeking a light to guide them out of personal darkness, but also for a society in need of healing. The idea that the very traumas that wound us can become a springboard for deeper happiness is not new, but it is rendered here with both heartbreaking honesty and inspiring power. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.❞

    Alex Lickerman, MD // Founder and Midwest Medical Director of KerixHealth

  • ❝A courageous and transformative examination of what we inherit—and what we can choose to change. Dr. Akemi BaileyHaynie reveals how the emotional climate of a home shapes identity, relationships, and generations, then shows us how cycles of pain can be interrupted with intention, dignity, and truth. This book is not just about trauma; it is about liberation. It challenges us to confront the past, reclaim our power, and deliberately create a different legacy. What we inherit may explain part of our story. What we intentionally create can change its ending. Home Is Where War Starts and Peace Begins is urgent, hopeful, and absolutely a MUST read!!!❞

    Dr. Henric L. Horace // Author of The Measure of a Child Founder, The MABEN Institute

  • ❝Home Is Where War Starts and Peace Begins is a powerful, courageous, and deeply necessary work. Dr. Akemi Bailey-Haynie reminds us that home is where children first learn whether the world is safe, whether their voices matter, and whether they are worthy of love. Through personal testimony, compelling research, and practical wisdom, she confronts the painful realities of trauma, violence, and generational wounds while showing us that healing is possible. Most importantly, this book does not leave us in pain, it provides a pathway toward peace, reconciliation, and the creation of homes where every child can feel protected, valued, and loved. As someone who has devoted my life to serving children and families, I believe this message is both timely and essential. This is more than a book; it is a call to examine what we are teaching within the walls of our homes and a reminder that when we transform the home, we transform families, communities, and generations to come.❞

    Dr. Pamela J. Blackman // President & CEO, BBF | Building Brighter Futures Center for the Arts


  • ❝Patterns of suffering often pass from one generation to the next. If you have ever felt powerless to break that cycle, this book is for you. In this deeply personal memoir, Dr. Akemi Bailey‑Haynie courageously shares her childhood experiences with alcoholism, violence, and emotional and physical abuse. With honesty and vulnerability, she shows how Soka Gakkai Nichiren Buddhism—and her own determined action—enabled her to transform her life and end a cycle that shaped generations. Her declaration, “I am not what was done to me. I am what I choose to become,” captures the heart of this book and the hope it offers. This compelling memoir is a testament to the human capacity for change. In a time of deep division, its message is profoundly relevant: peace begins with valuing our own lives and the lives of others. Through her lived example, Dr. Bailey‑Haynie offers courage, healing, and proof that lasting transformation is possible.❞

    Linda C. Johnson, Esquire // Retired Supervising Deputy Attorney General California Department of Justice

  • ❝Home Is Where War Starts and Peace Begins is a deeply moving testament to how conflict and peace live side‑by‑side within us. Dr. Akemi Bailey‑Haynie shows, with striking honesty, that war and peace are not opposites but intertwined forces that can lead us toward healing, truth, and wholeness. Through her courageous journey from childhood into adulthood, she lays bare the wounds of family trauma and the strength required to face them. Her vulnerability invites readers to look directly at their own pain and discover the quiet, transformative power that can rise from it. This book is a heartfelt call to turn suffering into purpose, to let adversity become a doorway to growth, reconciliation, and lasting peace. It reminds us that even in turmoil, the possibility of transformation is always within reach.❞

    Cecilia Douthy Willis, Ph.D., CPS // Professor Emeritus, Springfield College


  • ❝A thought‑provoking and deeply human book that blends personal storytelling with practical wisdom. The author’s love for her family shines through every chapter, offering both heartfelt reflection and concrete guidance for creating peace at home. Her exploration of chanting and Buddhism is accessible, grounding, and illuminating, inviting readers to slow down, look inward, and move forward with intention. A timely, transformative read.❞

    Susan Rohde // Storyteller, Keeper of Children Champion, Higher Education Professional   


  • ❝Home is Where War Starts and Peace Begins is an inspiring memoir that speaks to the strength of the human spirit. With honesty and courage, the author confronts family trauma and shares a journey of healing shaped by resilience, self-awareness, and personal transformation. Her words will resonate with anyone who has faced hardship, loss, or adversity. More than a memoir, this is a reminder that healing is possible, lasting change begins within, and even our most difficult experiences can lead us toward peace and wholeness. ❞

    Therapist // Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Psychotherapist


  • ❝Home Is Where War Starts and Peace Begins is a courageous and necessary work. Dr. Akemi Bailey‑Haynie breaks the silence surrounding generational trauma and offers a powerful pathway to healing. As someone who grew up amid poverty, violence, addiction, and instability, I understand how deeply the wounds of the past can shape our lives—yet I also know transformation is possible. Dr. Bailey‑Haynie’s story affirms a truth our world urgently needs we are not defined by what happened to us. With wisdom, compassion, and unflinching honesty, she shows that breaking cycles of trauma is not only possible but can lead to lasting freedom and profound personal change. This memoir is a testament to the human capacity for renewal. In a time of deep division, its message is especially vital: peace begins with valuing our own lives and the lives of others. Through her lived example, Dr. Bailey‑Haynie offers hope, courage, and proof that transformation is within reach for all of us.❞

    Lynne M. Turner // Secretary to the Board, Cook County Government, Illinois


  • ❝Home Is Where War Starts and Peace Begins is a poignant read of perseverance, joy, victories, sorrow and the hurt all in one. The engrossed ride through life and family experiences is riveting. You won't want to stop reading. I was moved, angered and heartened by this extraordinary book. At times it was disturbing but serves as an inspiring tool for others to gain peace and power within themselves. It is also a vehicle for healing and deliverance to press on. This book redefines how women can step into power by transforming their homes and communities with vision and determination. It proves that women empowerment advocates change by reshaping their circumstances and outcomes. This book is a force that not only reshapes lives but helps move the world toward greater possibility and change.❞

    Dr. Phyllis Daniels Ward // President & Founder of Phil Daniel, Inc. 


Winter Always Turns to Spring A Memoir: My Triumphant Journey

by Dr. Akemi Bailey Haynie and Sachiko Takata Bailey

Sachiko Takata was 14 years-old when an atomic bomb dropped on her hometown of Hiroshima, Japan. In an instant her world was changed. Her mother died shortly after Japan’s surrender. The devastation of war and the loss of her mother awakened in Sachiko’s heart a deep resolve to devote her life to building a world of peace where the dignity of all human beings is respected and the peril and haunting specter of nuclear war is nonexistent.

Given her experience with war, it was ironic that she would marry an American soldier, LeRoy Bailey. It was in the United States that she was introduced to Nichiren Buddhism and credits her practice of Buddhism, as well as her mentor, Daisaku Ikeda, with saving and transforming her life. Through his example, she was able to learn how to tap the innate power of her spirit to weather life’s storms; to change poison into medicine; to win over all obstacles, and to turn winter into spring.

Because of her growth and understanding of life, Sachiko Takata Bailey now thinks of August 6, 1945, as Victory Day, because the victorious and optimistic person she became emerged from the ashes and ruins of Hiroshima.

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  • ❝I loved the book, couldn't put it down. A true story of the struggles of a Japanese War bride who fell in love with an African-American soldier, that by far, describes the emotions, joys and pains, of moving to the USA and finding out that racism was alive and well in the southern states.❞

    READER REVIEW // Winter Always Turns to Spring A Memoir: My Triumphant Journey Sachiko Takata Bailey

  • ❝This is one of those books that you just cant put down. This is a story of Faith, Hope, Strength, and Perseverance. This is one of the best books I read this year! Very well written! Amazing!!❞

    READER REVIEW // Winter Always Turns to Spring A Memoir: My Triumphant Journey Sachiko Takata Bailey

  • ❝All I can say is wow! I am so moved and encouraged by the story of of Sachiko! I couldn’t put the book down. There were tears of joy and tears of sadness as I read Sachiko’s story.❞

    READER REVIEW // Winter Always Turns to Spring A Memoir: My Triumphant Journey Sachiko Takata Bailey

  • ❝Sachiko Bailey's story of triumph helped me to understand the power of her Buddhist practice and incredible spirit. I was amazed at the many challenges she had to overcome, yet she continued to move forward-understanding that her strong faith would bring her through.❞

    READER REVIEW // Winter Always Turns to Spring A Memoir: My Triumphant Journey Sachiko Takata Bailey