The Munchkin Diary

Book excerpt: As one of the last remaining Munchkins, Betty Ann Bruno has had aninside look at the legendary land of Oz, and has traveled her ownYellow Brick Road well beyond that rainbow. At 5, she was directed in a film by John Ford. At 12, she was the fulltime organist in a Catholic church, where she was mentored by a ex-seminarian who tried repeatedly to molest her. As an adult she worked for the CIA.She then became Oakland's first female, Asian-American TV reporter, where she talked a notorious drug dealer into doing an on-camera profile before he later threatened to kill her. She survived the 1991 Oakland Hills Firestorm that burned 3,000 homes (including hers), and described the scene live on national TV after barely escaping with her life. There's a lot more, including her exploration of the spiritual mysteries she calls "life after life." Through it all is her struggle with her ethnicity and her ultimate acceptance of herself by founding Hula Mai, a Hawaiian dance company. It's a wise and honest account of a very eventful journey and a riveting rea