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Song of Survival: Women Interned Audiobook
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(3.06) - 80 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Helen Colijn’s account of her wartime experiences is a window into a largely overlooked dimension of World War II: the imprisonment of women and children in Southeast Asia by the Japanese and how these prisoners of war responded to their dire circumstances. The conditions were harsh, terrible. Food was scarce, medicine unavailable. Held in captivity for three and a half years, more than a third of the women in Helen’s camp died of disease or starvation. Yet their courage, faith, resiliency, ingenuity, and camaraderie provide us with enduring lessons on living.
Though the prisoners had no musical instruments, they had their voices, and from memory scored classical works for symphony and piano. The music that helped sustain them while in captivity is a lasting and precious gift of these women to a world that has witnessed far too much war.
You can lean more about Song of Survival at White Cloud Press
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"When I was in middle school my children's choir organized a concert around Helen Colijn and her fellow internees' choral work and experiences. It's pretty powerful stuff."
— DDog (5 out of 5 stars)
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“A remarkable story of the courage of women who endured, and of music’s healing powers.”
— San Francisco Chronicle -
“A moving account of some remarkable women and the music that sustained them.”
— Amazon.com Review -
“[Wanda McCaddon’s] performance brings the listener directly into this stark reality…The increasing weariness and loss of hope for liberation is poignant and striking.”
— AudioFile -
“Remarkable…grips the reader from the very first pages…Song of Survival will bring a new dimension to the courage that was a hallmark of World War II.”
— Library Journal
Song of Survival Listener Reviews
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" Read for HIST2078: In the Firing Line - Australians at War "
— Miss, 5/13/2011 -
" One of my favorite books EVER. "
— Holly, 10/31/2006 -
" I only bought this book because I'm now living in Indonesia. That said, it was a pretty interesting and true story about what Dutch colonialists went through during WWII and how they survived life in Japanese camps. Not something that I knew much about before reading this book. "
— Katie, 8/20/2006 -
" It was somewhat boring at first describing her life before the war, but other than that I was sucked into the horror and hope of the women whom refused to give up on life. "
— Ruth, 7/1/2006
About Helen Colijn
Helen Colijn is the author of two books on Holland (Of Dutch Ways and The Backroads of Holland) and was coproducer of the documentary film Song of Survival.
About Wanda McCaddon
Wanda McCaddon (d. 2023) narrated well over six hundred titles for major audiobook publishers, sometimes with the pseudonym Nadia May or Donada Peters. She earned the prestigious Audio Award for best narration and numerous Earphones Awards. She was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine.