Incredible story of bravery and endurance by the Australian nurses and fellow women in the pacific POW campus during WW2. 

It was amazing hearing their stories of how they cared for each other and didn’t allow their situation to turn to bitterness or lashing out at each other, but all chipped in the majority of the time to help each other. The way they poured themselves into music to nourish their spirits and pull together was inspiring. Definitely interesting how the afterword said the women’s spirits were in much better shape than the men’s and I’m sure all that contributed. 

I was not a fan of the writing style, however, and was my only reason for dropping my rating. It had good dialogue but was very narrative based and a bit gappy. I also had a hard time reconciling other books I’ve read about Japanese POW camps and the lack of brutality in this one. Maybe it really wasn’t as horrific, but it seemed disparate. Loved the story tho and leaning about the women. Great information.