BLUE SKIES, TROUBLED WATERS

In this historical memoir co-written by her grandson, a woman recounts her childhood in Japanese-occupied Indonesia during World War II.

“Were she to meet you, she’d say ‘Call me Grandma, too,’” writes Kimmel of his grandmother and co-author Lohn in the introduction. In 1940, 6-year-old American-born Lohn—nicknamed “Ath”—left New Jersey, along with her twin sister, Kath, and their Polish mother and undocumented Indonesian father, who was facing deportation. The family settled in Ath’s father’s village in Minahasa, Indonesia, and quickly embraced a culture that valued community, faith, and natural beauty, the third item provided in part by Ath’s blooming garden. Their idyllic existence was short-lived, however, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the invasion of Japanese troops into Indonesia (then known as the Dutch East Indies before its own subsequent revolution). Over the next several years, the Walandouw family—including the two young daughters—were subjected to multiple abductions and stints in prisoner of war camps, physical assault at the whims of sadistic soldiers, and forced labor, among other atrocities. Through it all, the family vowed to not only survive, but thrive as they welcomed another child, cared for extended family and friends, and never lost their faith. In 1959, Ath and her family emigrated from Indonesia and lived in the Netherlands before gaining entry back to the United States after being sponsored by members of a church in the Pacific Northwest, where the family settled. Lohn’s memoir was originally published in 1966 under the title Where Now Is My Garden? Kimmel has co-written the new edition, updated to include timelines, maps, and culturally sensitive references to the Asian American and Pacific Islander population. The result is a comprehensive yet intimate portrait of a hellish turning point in history seen through the eyes of a little girl. Ath is a small-but-mighty narrator, fighting for her mother’s stolen wedding ring, scheming with her father to acquire a forbidden radio, and caring for her twin sister through the mumps.

A compelling tale of lost innocence and survival updated for a new generation.