Rising from the Shadow of the Sun

This second edition of Rising from the Shadow of the Sun, A Story of Love, Survival and Joy exemplifies the power of positive thinking, of hope, of perseverance even in the most perilous and life threatening situations and of a mother's love for her children, surpassing even the tragedy of death.

Jeannette Herman-Louwerse, Netty, a young mother incarcerated by the Japanese on the island of Java during world War Two with her two little girls Ronny and Paula, endures starvation, harsh punishments and diseases for almost four years. They barely survive.

In a secret diary, at the risk of being tortured and killed had it been detected, Netty writes letters to her parents in the German-occupied Netherlands, and gives an accurate historical account of the Japanese invasion and the lives of women and children interned under the brutal regime of the Japanese. She describes the years of physical and psychological suffering, but also the hope, faith, solidarity and resilience that keep the imprisoned women alive.

Netty's husband Fokko, a pilot with the Dutch Naval Air Force, stationed in Surabaya, escapes with his squadron hours before the Japanese submarines encircle the island. Working under British command in Sri Lanka, Fokko’s story is chronicled along the same timeline as that of his wife and children; he, too, survives.

Ten years after the war Ronny continues her education in the Netherlands. She earns a degree in English from Leiden University and marries an ambitious young man. After the birth of two daughters and a son they emigrate to California in 1972.

The close-knit family serves as a strong basis for the ups and downs in Ronny’s life. Setting goals and fulfilling dreams, Ronny frequently visits her parents in the Netherlands; she translates her mother's diary and based on that publishes her first book In the Shadow of the Sun in 1992. After her father passes away the bond with her mother grows even stronger.

The first edition of Rising from the Shadow of the Sun, A Story of Love, Survival and Joy, published in 2011 includes Ronny's memoir and the Japanese War Crimes Files. This second edition commemorates her mother's life.