Rising From the Shadow of the Sun--a review

World War Two

I finished Ronny Herman de Jong's book RISING FROM THE SHADOW OF THE SUN.  I recommend it to readers who want to know more about the Second World War. As someone who recognizes that we need to understand our history is order to avoid repeating it, I was intrigued with Ms. de Jong's book.
The first half is her translation and edit of her mother's diary and recollections written during World War Two in the Dutch East Indies. Netty was raising two small daughters as part of the Dutch colonial community of the Indies. Her daily routines were described in letters back to the Netherlands. When Hitler's army occupied the Netherlands, it was impossible to contact them, so she wrote her letters in a diary. Soon the life in Java deteriorated under Japanese rule as the men left or were imprisoned and the women and children were moved into smaller and more crowded housing. Before the war ended, Netty and her two daughters were interned in conditions that almost ended in their death. Others around them were dying daily, and Netty's one consolation was that each day's passing might bring them closer to release.
The second part of the book describes Ronny's life after the war, becoming an American citizen and a writer.