Seated at a table in the Chit-Chat Coffee Shop, her family-owned cafe in the city of Koshu, Yamanashi Prefecture, Rhonda Tezuka watches with pride as her son, Hiroki, serves up the cafe's signature dish, a sinfully rich chocolate-and-cream concoction known as On Top of Mount Fuji. Equally at home in Japanese or English, Hiroki interacts with customers while Tezuka's husband, Hiroo, runs the kitchen.

Hiroki, now a young adult of 21, has special needs. Tezuka has long dreamed of providing a platform for her son to learn skills that could lead to a viable future, and he is succeeding beyond even her expectations. It is this indomitable spirit that has propelled Tezuka forward her entire life.

Originally a nurse by profession, Tezuka is overcoming cultural barriers and helping others to take charge of their own health and welfare. Along the way she has been honored by the Japanese Red Cross and has met Empress Michiko no less than three times.