Tag Archive | Heather Morris

Sisters Under The Rising Sun by Heather Morris

Jun13

Powerful

Sisters Under The Rising Sun by Heather Morris is a powerful true story of survival in the Far East during World War II.

The novel starts in 1942 as the Japanese are invading Singapore. The fear and terror at the docks has been captured by the author. Some, make it home. However, the main characters are captured and spend the war in several Japanese P.O.W. camps. This is their story.

The women show much bravery and resilience. They develop a camaraderie, determined to keep going. Comfort is found in the setting up of an orchestra – which is just the women’s voices. They raise morale giving concerts which even the Japanese guards enjoy.

For the women, their war is one of death and disease in the tropical heat, as well as fear, starvation and cruelty. We witness man’s inhumanity to man.

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Three Sisters by Heather Morris

Oct14

The Promise

 Three Sisters by Heather Morris is a powerful true story of survival during a time of great evil. It is a book that will horrify you as you witness the cruelty towards the Jewish people. It is a book that will inspire you as you observe the bonds of love between the three sisters. It is a book that needs to be read in memory of the six million innocents who perished.

Much of the book is set in Auschwitz and other camps, some is in the girls’ home in Slovakia and the book ends in Israel. The reader sees that “to survive one must remain invisible.”

Auschwitz was a place of unbelievable horrors. The three sisters each had the desire to survive in order to help each other and to fulfill a promise made to their father in 1929. “We Meller girls must stay strong and carry hope in our hearts.” They carried love too.

The camps tested a person’s faith. Some clung on to God. Others questioned. “We needed God in those camps, and where was He?” God walked beside them in the pits of hell but His presence could not always be felt. Our feelings are unreliable. God was there with His children.

People did what they had to in order to survive. “She has chosen to survive, so don’t ever judge her.” Heather Morris vividly describes the horrendous conditions, cruelty and torture of the innocents. Pictures have been planted in my brain through her words that are now impossible to ‘unsee.’

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Stories Of Hope by Heather Morris

Sep18

Wow… Inspiring

Stories Of Hope by Heather Morris is a powerful read about the importance of listening to others when they are talking.

Heather Morris wrote The Tattooist Of Auschwitz and also Cilka’s Journey, both of which I have read and are excellent. Within this book Heather Morris talks about her experiences of listening to Lale as he talked about Auschwitz. It was important to listen well and not ask questions that would interrupt his flow.

Many survivors of the concentration camps do not talk about their experiences, especially within their families. Their stories need to be told in tribute to both the survivors and the six million innocents who died.

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Cilka’s Journey by Heather Morris

Jan9

Impossible Choices

Cilka’s Journey by Heather Morris is a powerful and heart breaking historical novel with its roots in reality. Lead character Cilka was first encountered in Heather Morris’ previous novel, The Tattooist Of Auschwitz. This book is Cilka’s story.

Cilka’s Journey is set from 1942 to the mid 1950’s. The action is mainly set in the Vorkula Gulag with flashbacks to Auschwitz. It is a heart wrenching novel with a heart of gold at its centre in the form of Cilka. She gives what little she can, whenever she can. Cilka reaches out in kindness.

No one should ever judge anyone who has been in the camps. People did what they did in order to survive. “No one can judge us… There were only two choices: one was to survive. The other was death.” Cilka shows a remarkable strength of character as she detaches her mind from her body. “He can have her body… he cannot have her mind, her heart, her soul.” Serial rape was a weapon of war, used as a form of control by the Nazis and others in authority. There are some hard to read scenes as the weak are overpowered by the strong.

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