Linda Cooper
@LinkoLinda Cooper is a communications consultant and freelance writer with more than 30 years of experience as a public relations practitioner, U.S. Senate press aide and journalist. She holds a BA in journalism and political science from Mississippi University for Women. Cooper resides in Tennessee with her husband. Her best friend Brenda is a retired registered nurse and lives nearby with her family.
Updated October 2024
Stories from This Author
Miss America
Oct. 20, 2024 • Linda Cooper
The U.S. Social Security Administration lists Linda as the fourth most popular name for a girl in the last 100 years, and there are a wealth of articles, which tout Linda as the trendiest name for a girl in U.S. history, reaching its peak in 1947. However, last year, my best friend Brenda sent me an article from The Wall Street Journal entitled, “Where have all the Linda’s gone.”… Alas, I’m not so trendy anymore. The story of this Linda, …
2 Presidents, 2 Senators, 2 Moms…and 2 Dads, too
Oct. 1, 2019 • Linda Cooper
My best friend Brenda and I have often talked about how much change and history our parents witnessed over the course of their lifetimes. We are the only-children, daughters of U.S. military fathers who were born and raised in the American South and Japanese mothers. Our parents lived through much of the history of the 20th century, and we too, as their daughters also are living witnesses to that history. Beginning in 1985, I had the great privilege of serving …
Embracing Our Nikkei Roots Via Southern Routes
Sept. 26, 2018 • Linda Cooper
If you’re a Japanese-American who lives on the East or West Coast, chances are, there are myriad ways to celebrate and nurture your Nikkei heritage with various festivals or celebrations, museum exhibits, trips to your local Japanese markets and restaurants, or through memberships in organizations such as the Japan Society or Japanese American Citizens League. But, what do you do if you grew up and live in the American South like my best friend Brenda and I? We are the …
Fried Chicken and Futomaki
Sept. 28, 2017 • Linda Cooper
In the documentary film Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight: The Japanese War Brides, Hiroko Tolbert says, “I’m completely American.” Her daughter Kathryn counters, “You know, it’s funny to say how American you are, yet every morning you make miso soup.” Hiroko giggles, “Well, the food is a different story,” she says, and she and her daughter both laugh…and it is. As we grow older, it seems, my best friend Brenda and I talk about food often. We are …
Yokoso Y’all
Aug. 17, 2016 • Linda Cooper
Thirty years ago, much to my delight, two events occurred which served to encapsulate my bicultural, hapa heritage. I am the daughter of a Japanese mother and Southern gentleman father, a career U.S. Army veteran who met and married my mother in Japan in the aftermath of World War II. While I traveled the world with my parents when my dad was in the military, I did most of my growing up in a small suburb of Memphis, Tennessee, after …
The Space Between
Sept. 27, 2013 • Linda Cooper
My best friend Brenda noted recently that we and our parents are a dying generation. We are the daughters of U.S. soldier dads and Japanese moms. These soldiers fell in love with Japan, and our moms during their tours of duty in the aftermath of World War II, and brought their brides home to the U.S. My parents have both passed away, as well as Brenda’s dad. Her mom is now 80. Brenda and I are only children and are …
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