From the call of duty, to the terrifying grip of the Japanese Empire, Lost Women of Rabaul shares the harrowing World War II journey of a group of Australian nurses.
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In his new book, Rod Miller tells the inspirational story of a group of Australian nurses and their resilience in the face of capture by the Japanese.
The book recounts how, during the height of the Japanese invasion, the close-knit band of women were abandoned by doctors at their Papua New Guinean mission.
With only the company of their patients, a padre and pair of orderlies who had volunteered to stay behind, the women were left to their inevitable fate of capture at the hands of the enemy.
Uncertain of the fate that awaited them, the women were forced to endure the terror of inspections of their quarters in the small hours of the morning, the fear of getting shot, and the hope of release as part of a diplomatic deal.
From Rabaul, readers are taken on a 10-day journey to Japan in the claustrophobic hold of a cargo ship, where the women were fed mostly on rice and shared rations from a group of imprisoned soldiers.
During the journey they had only a hard floor for sleeping, with a tin of water every other day for washing.
The book then follows the women to Yokohama, from a hotel where rations ranged from generous to extremely scarce, to a clubhouse turned POW camp.
It recounts harrowing experiences with vicious guards, long periods of confinement, with only periodic opportunity to exercise, bouts with malaria and other illnesses, and food deprivation resulting in ill health and emaciation.
It then follows the women to their final stop of Totsuka.
The book captures the women's growing hope of liberation at the hands of advancing American forces, tempered by the ever-present threat of Japanese die-hards who still held them captive.
Embellished with genuine diary entries and poetry by the nurses, the book provides a riveting account of the story which inspired ABC mini-series Sisters of War.
From the dejection of being abandoned by their government and colleagues, to the intrigue of international diplomacy, it provides a stunning account of imprisonment, and eventual liberation.
Readers will be stunned by acts of defiance made at great personal risk, and moved by the memories, camaraderie and sarcastic humour which helped the nurses through their ordeal.
Lost Women of Rabaul is a stunning true account or wartime captivity that is bound to keep you turning pages late into the night.
Lost Women of Rabaul, by Rod Miller (Big Sky Publishing) RRP $32.99.
