Kiyoko Zaborszky, 83, is a translator with a reputation for picking winners. She's worked on books with positive messages that help readers deal with difficult and often controversial issues such as adoption, organ donation, disease and dying. In a career spanning four decades, Zaborszky translated 31 books from English into Japanese, and although none are bestsellers, most are beloved by readers who place them permanently on their night stands and recommend them to others in need. Zaborszky's translation of Bernie S. Siegel M.D's "Love, Medicine and Miracles," which encourages cancer patients to think positively, has achieved such cult status that copies are often kept under readers' pillows for quick reference. Zaborszky's dream has been to connect people in the two countries she loves: the United States and Japan. Her own story reads like a good novel, and she's sure that she still has a few more exciting chapters left in her.
It's impossible to really understand why you do what you do. I never thought of living anywhere else but Japan, and yet when I was 62, I got married for the second time and moved to the U.S. I wanted to make my American husband happy, so I even became a U.S. citizen. Go figure!
If you are loved and if you love, there is no such thing as culture shock. The first time it was my husband's love that made adjusting to life in the U.S. so easy. We had 20 happy years together, and after his death last year, I came back to Japan. That time I didn't feel any stress either because of my daughters' care. No matter what age, you can start a new life, even in another country.