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with nothing but our lives tells the story of a precocious young boy in concentration camps for Dutch women and children on Java under the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) during WWII.

I planned to have with nothing but our lives finished by August 15 2015, the 70th anniversary of the unconditional surrender of Japan. It was a reasonable goal and I should have made that symbolic deadline; worse, I have not touched the book since October 2015. I apologize to all of you who have been following my progress so faithfully and want you to know that I have updated my web site in July 2018 and have started writing again.

Please share your thoughts by leaving a comment using the “Leave a comment” feature below my Blog ”Help me get this story told”. Please CLICK HERE to go to that Blog.

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Distributing food

Dutch Indonesia Concentration Camp, Women mopping Filling a barrel used to distribute the food to the barracks. Food was the center of our universe. All of our thoughts revolved around food every waking hour and even in our dreams. How much would we get to eat today? Would it be… Read more...

Living Conditions

Dutch Indonesia Concentration Camp Barack with Children A large family in a corner of one of the barracks. This young mother and her 4 children seem to be lucky in having such a secluded location, but the reality most likely is that she… Read more...

Water well

Dutch Indonesia Concentration camp with woman bathing This was the only water well for 3,200 women and children. I used water from this well to treat a tropical ulcer on the shin of my left leg by irrigating it several times a day. The nickname for such an ulcer was “Tropical Rose”.  Read more...

Reviews

 
Great Work!
 

“Congratulations on being chosen as a finalist in the 2015 Tucson Festival of Books Literary Awards competition.”

 
Inspiring!