In February 1942, the British colony of Singapore was invaded by Japan, and everyone was sent scrambling for safety. Norah Chambers, a British citizen living on the island, does everything she can to keep her family together while making plans to evacuate before Japanese soldiers arrive. She and her husband, John, make the heart-wrenching decision to send their daughter on another ship with family, hopeful that their separation will be short-lived and all three will be together soon.

Shortly after boarding the merchant ship that was to take them to safety, Norah and her family are left to fend for themselves in the water after the vessel was attacked and they had to abandon it. Following a harrowing night in the water, Norah, John and her sister, Ena, manage to make it ashore to a Sumatran island. But soon they are captured by the Japanese and sent to a prison camp in the jungles of Indonesia.

"Heather Morris does a superb job of drawing on readers’ emotions. This book left me in tears; I actually put it down at one point to find tissues. It is heartbreaking, agonizing and even distressing at times."

Also on board that fated ship is a group of Australian Army nurses who are doing all they can to keep everyone calm and care for the sick as best as possible. When the ship is attacked, they help usher everyone off before jumping into the water themselves with nothing but the clothes they’re wearing. A few of the nurses --- Nesta, Betty and Vivian --- were glad to see each other on board, but their celebration lasts only moments before they are plunging into danger once more. After drifting ashore, the nurses and their colleagues are picked up by the Japanese and sent to a prison camp along with Norah and her family.

After three years and seven devastating months there, forced to work with little to no food or clean water, rescue finally arrives when the Japanese surrender. But for Norah, Ena, Nesta, Betty, Vivian and all the others who were imprisoned, it’s a long road full of recovery and healing.

Heather Morris does a superb job of drawing on readers’ emotions. This book left me in tears; I actually put it down at one point to find tissues. It is heartbreaking, agonizing and even distressing at times. You feel the words Morris writes, and they hurt. I kept reading through the tears, needing to know that these amazing women survived and made it home.

SISTERS UNDER THE RISING SUN is absolutely tragic, not only because of Morris’ amazing writing but because it’s a true story. What these ladies went through, the dear friends and family they buried in the jungles of Indonesia, the tragedy and the loss is gut-wrenching and traumatic. While I can’t say that this book is an easy read, it is a worthy one. Morris does the survivors justice, sharing their stories and exhibiting their strength and determination to make it back to their families.