"Ancestry of Experience: A Journey Into Hawaiian Ways of Knowing," by Leilani Holmes (University of Hawai‘i Press, $39): Adopted by a Midwestern couple in the 1950s, the author documents her quest to reclaim and understand her origin story, both describing her search for her genealogy and criticizing Western epistemologies she encounters along the way.

"East Wind Blowing," by C.U. Leeward (AuthorHouse, $19.95; also e-book): The Hawaii resident shares her story of domestic abuse in this memoir.

"Daughters of Fire," by Tom Peek (Koa Books, $20; also e-book): A visiting astronomer falls in love with a Hawaiian anthropologist and enters a world of volcanoes, gods and revered ancestors before the two get caught up in murder and intrigue surrounding development on the Kona Coast.

"Do You Dream in Color? Insights from a Girl Without Sight," by Laurie Rubin (Seven Stories Press, $18.95; also e-book): A memoir by a blind mezzosoprano who fulfilled her ambition to sing on a national stage and live a full and independent life. Rubin is co-founder and associate artistic director of Ohana Arts, a performing arts school and festival.

"My Mother Myself," by Chako Wada (Lulu.com, $12.50): An autobiographical account of the tumultuous life of a Japa­nese diplomat’s daughter and her painful relationship with her mother.

"Night of Infamy: One Man’s Pearl Harbor," by John W. Thomas (self-published, $9.95; email jwt7133@yahoo.com): The true story of Navy pilot Jim Daniels, one of three pilots who survived a barrage of "friendly fire" in the hours following the Dec. 7, 1941, attack.