[1] After finishing an MA in Development Studies at Leeds University in England in 1995, Ishioka spent two years working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The museum loaned her a child's suitcase, which had a name, a birthdate and the German word, Waisenkind (orphan) written on it.
[3][4] Ishioka began researching the life of the owner of the suitcase, Hana Brady, and eventually found her surviving brother in Canada.
[5] The story of Brady and how her suitcase led Ishioka to Toronto became the subject of a CBC documentary.
[7] In October 2006, the book won the Yad Vashem award, presented to George Brady at a ceremony in Jerusalem.