PORT ANGELES — The best-selling author of “The Courage of a Samurai: Seven Sword-Sharp Principles for Success,” will speak to the Port Angeles Toastmasters Club on Zoom at 7 p.m. Monday, May 18.

Lori Tsugawa Whaley’s book became an Amazon International Best Seller eBook in 2016.

Meetings are free for guests.

To join the Zoom meeting, go to tinyurl.com/PDN-whaleymeeting. The meeting ID is 154 986 467. The password is 983630.

In 2005, Whaley, a Washington resident, was the victim of a rear-end car collision. She was in a second rear-end collision in 2007. Diagnosed with a closed head injury, or “mild” traumatic brain injury (TBI) left her reading at a seventh-grade level.

She decided that writing a book would be the goal to help her overcome this disability. Exploring her Japanese heritage became the focus and she soon discovered the paternal side of the family were descendants of the samurai, the ancient warriors of Japan.

At an exhibit in Seattle at the Wing Luke Museum in 1995, she had learned about Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat who saved thousands of Jewish lives during WWII.

“That story really moved me and became my inspiration,” Whaley said.

“He had nothing to gain and everything to lose.”

Notably, the first endorsement in her book is from Sugihara’s only surviving son, Nobuki Sugihara.

She began writing in 2008 and self-published her book about modern-day application of the samurai code of bushido in 2015.

“I learned so much researching about people who exemplified the bushido code in all they accomplished and came to realize it is as important today as it was in the days of the samurai,” she said.

Her book “Let the Samurai Be Your Guide,” published by Tuttle Publishing, outlines the bushido principles and provides real life examples of people who used these principles to overcome obstacles in their lives.

March is Brain Injury Awareness Month. The Brain Injury Association of America’s theme for the 2018-20 campaign is Change Your Mind.