Discovering Your Ikigai - Carrie Carter and Whiskers Abroad
Photo Credits: Headshot by Jack O’Patrny, the rest by Carrie and Jim Carter
Carrie Carter has a profound love for Japan, cats, sumo, dioramas, and eating unusual foods. She has traveled with her husband Jim to Japan fourteen times. Her numerous holidays across her favorite country were the inspiration for her first book, Whiskers Abroad: A Human and A Feline Perspective on Traveling in Japan.
Carrie has run multiple marathons - including the Tokyo Marathon - and as expected, Carrie and Jim live with an adorable cat named Frenemy, who was unhappy at not being selected as the model for the book.
Carrie lives in Houston, TX, and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin. At home, she loves to cook, design/create Halloween costumes, and daydream about meeting Jacques Pepin. She dislikes overly dramatic music used in reality TV shows. Currently, Carrie is working on her second book, a sequel to Whiskers Abroad, where Audrey and Ashi explore further into Japan and get themselves into even more interesting predicaments.
RAINE: Why did you pursue a career as a writer?
CARRIE CARTER: I’ve always enjoyed stories. As a young kid, my dad would tell me a story before I went to bed, and as my reading skills increased, I found myself immersed in the fictional world of whatever book I was reading. In third grade, I tried my hand at writing short stories about a girl and her best friend attempting to solve mysteries, not so shocking, those pieces never went anywhere and no one read them but my mom.
Once I graduated from college, my narrative writing became less and less as things like work and trying to pay the rent became priority. Still, the thought of writing lingered in my mind, until I decided it was time to take the plunge, to make a commitment, and try to make it happen. I stuck with it and got my first book, Whiskers Abroad, published. Unfortunately, I still have that pesky day job. For now…
RAINE: Why is it valuable for someone to find their ikigai (reason for being) and how did finding yours influence your book Whiskers Abroad?
CARTER: Ikigai is a complex concept but at its core, it’s about finding your reason for being. Have I found mine? I’m not quite sure, but I know I like making people smile by my stories, even if only for a second. It’s not simply something I like to do, but it’s a deeper urge to write and to share. If I don’t get my narrative onto the page, I start to feel itchy and restless.
Back to Whiskers Abroad and my Ikigai. I was searching for it, but falsely in terms of a job. I sent a list of my likes to my friends, begging for job suggestions for me, and my sister shot back, “Combine cats, Japan, writing, coffee, travel, and food. Write a book.” Suddenly it all made sense. My purpose is to write these light-hearted cat travel stories, share them with the world, and hope it inspires other people to go on their own adventures.
RAINE: Why did you set your book in Japan? Why did you fall in love with the country?
CARTER: I was always fascinated by Japan as a kid as I watched the old Godzilla movies on TV. They aired on Saturday mornings, after cartoons but before the martial arts movies. While I loved the monsters fighting, I loved the models of the Japanese towns and cities more. The signs were in a writing that I couldn’t read. It piqued my interest of what Japan must have been like, but I figured I’d never actually travel there. One day I got my chance to step foot into the country because of a layover on the way back from Australia, and immediately was smitten. My husband worked for an airline at the time, and as a result, we used his flight benefits to travel to Japan.
About the second part, why do I love Japan? I love Japan, and yes, I know it has flaws and downsides. I know visiting a place is not the same as living there. Still, something about Japan draws me in. Maybe it’s because the United States is a wealthy country with a high GDP and so is Japan, but culturally it is very different from here. I like being out of my element. I also like how safe Japan is, how easy it is to travel within the country, and of course, the fabulous food. Ramen! Tonkatsu! Ekibens! Mister Doughnut! I marvel at Tokyo, and how busy it is, and how people go about their business. I am impressed by the Japanese attention to details, the concept of “self as us,” (do what’s good for the community, not just yourself), and the respect for elders. It’s odd, but I feel very much at home in Japan.
RAINE: If someone asked you how they could stimulate their creativity, what advice would you give?
CARTER: Sometimes you need to get away from your everyday environment: go out in nature (maybe it’s a park), hear the birds chirp, and let your mind wonder. It’s surprising what you might think of. Then there’s the opposite side which can also stimulate creativity, maybe even more than being relaxed, and that’s being bored. Embrace your boring commute on the bus or boring work meeting that has no relevance to what you do. A bored mind will create something to fill the void. Don’t be tempted to look at your phone, send out texts, or watch a video. Instead, daydream. Let your mind tell you stories or simply wonder but don’t focus on your to-do list! A wondering mind strengthens into a creative mind.
RAINE: What words of wisdom can you share with others on a similar journey?
CARTER: Keep at it and be consistent. I received this great advice about writing: “Write your two terrible sentences a day.” Two becomes four, then eight, and before you know it an entire page, and because the sentences are terrible, you don’t have to get hung up if it’s good enough or not. Editing will help fix that issue. The time will pass whether you write or not. You might as well write if that’s your desire. Before long, you will have an entire manuscript. Also, you are free to write more than two sentences if you have the time.
RAINE: Do you have any exciting plans coming up?
CARTER: I’m working on a sequel to Whiskers Abroad. Audrey and Ashi return to Japan again, but this time, there are not only more adventures but also more animals: monkeys, rabbits, and more cats. I’m also working on a fiction novel about infidelity, astronaut recruiting, and the Rice Hotel in Houston, set in the 1960s.
