Dark Skies Over Paradise

About the Book

In March 1942, Louisa's life changed forever as Japanese troops took over cities on the island of Java, in what is now the country of Indonesia. She was forced to give up almost everything she owned almost overnight, and her husband was sent away to an unknown fate. Would she ever see him again?

For three and a half years, Louisa remained a prisoner of the Japanese with her two young children. She was forced to labor everyday in the hot tropical sun, while living in dirty overcrowded conditions. Her faith and belief that her husband was alive somewhere helped her to focus on keeping them alive on little food and with sickness raging all around them.

In her memoirs, Louisa takes the reader on a journey into the tragic events inside a Japanese prison camp for women and children during the Second World War.

About the Author

Louisa Priesman-Bogaardt was born in Haarlem, Netherlands in 1918. She moved to the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) in 1937. During the Second World War, she and her two young children lived in several Japanese prison camps on the island of Java. She and her family moved to Canada in 1957. Louisa enjoyed her retirement years living in the Okanagan Valley. She passed away peacefully in 2009.