Perils and Pearls by Hulda Bachman-Neeb Book Tour, Guest Post & Giveaway! {Ends 5/8/20}

"The story of our Dutch family being ripped apart isn't unique. Millions suffered beyond description during the war. However, today, I have the opportunity to share our story with others so that they may know just how priceless their freedom is. That is my sincerest wish in bringing this book to the general public." - Hulda Bachmann-Neeb

Perils and Pearls: In World War II, a Family's Story of Survival and Freedom from Japanese Jungle Prison Camps by Hulda Bachman-Neeb
Category:  Adult Non-Fiction, 190 pages |  Genre:  Memoir / Japanese History
Publisher:  BristleCone Press |  Release date:   September, 2019
Tour dates: Apr 13 to May 1, 2020
Content Rating: PG: There are mentions of decapitation and ugly jail or camp scenes and murder. No bad words, no expletives, no drug use and no drinking.
Book Description:
      In World War II much of Asia fell under Japanese control after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. All non-Asians were imprisoned in concentration camps until August of 1945, the end of the war in the Pacific. This is the story of a Dutch family, resident in the Dutch East Indies, that fell victim to the Japanese occupation and was interned in jungle camps throughout the war. It tells the journey from riches to rags, from fear and suffering, to the joy of freedom and recovery.

BUY THE BOOK: Amazon ~ Barnes and Noble ~ Books-a-Millions ~ IndieBound ~ BookDepository
Add to Goodreads

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REVIEW by LAWonder10:

This is a harrowing account of a family from Holland who was caught up in and experienced some of the devastation of World War ll. 

I discovered the Japanese trained their Samurai soldiers from their youth,  in methods of torture as part of their training. Several were named. It is incredible to me that individuals can be so inhumane to create such cruel methods of causing pain in others. 

This story is very well written. I didn't put the book down until I was finished! Although it offers a clear picture of some of what they had to endure, it doesn't go into morbid detail. The reader is left the occasion to "fill in the gaps". 

In the Introduction, the author states a warning of not taking freedom for granted and to do all one can to preserve it.  Many in the world today are striving to overcome democracy and "paints" Socialism and Communism as desirable. World Wars from the past should be enough to cause all to realize they are not desirable nor do they do the governing  euphoria they claim to. If it were so, so many wouldn't be fleeing to America and enraged because it cannot let all others in.

This earns a Five Stars rating.
*This book was gifted me with no pressure to offer a positive review. This is my honest review.
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​  GUEST POST

My inspiration and challenges

     I have never aspired to be an author. During my travels all over the world on my assignments with the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I wanted to keep my family in the Netherlands in the picture of my whereabouts. Consequently, I wrote letters home every week, that were flown to Holland in the Diplomatic pouch together with the messages for the Foreign Office. My letters were as brief as I could make them, to the point, with poignant descriptions of people and places. I suppose, this is how I created an ability of expressing myself. It turned out to be good practice when I decided to write “Perils and Pearls.”
​        Time and again, people who knew my background, the beginnings of my life in a Japanese concentration camp, insisted I write it down. How could I? Did I have the writing skills? When my husband, who is a historian, and I were giving talks in and around our town of Estes Park in Colorado, and when we encountered so much ignorance and at the same time so much interest in the events of the Second World War in the Pacific, I decided it was time. I contacted my brother, who is the keeper of the family archives, I gathered all the information from my talks with my mother, I searched in my collection for letters and manuscripts and so I began the process. The key challenges in writing my book was trying not to get carried away by the horrors I needed to describe. My mother, my family, when they spoke of these events, were always describing them in a matter of fact way. I trusted that the reader could find much that was unsaid between the lines. Personally, I am struck by the strength, courage, perseverance, wisdom of my mother under these horrible circumstances. And every time I read the story of the young woman Luut, I am deeply moved. She was 24 years old, wise beyond her age, when she realized she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. But she continued her calvary, and took the place of her brother to be decapitated.
       I believe I was inspired to write this book, encouraged by my husband and my friends. I have said wanted I wanted to say. Even when my friends insist they want a sequel, I know I will not be able to summon the same discipline or have the same inspiration.
         “Perils and Pearls” will be my one and only book

Meet the Author:
     Hulda Bachman–Neeb was born in Indonesia of colonial Dutch parentage two years before the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941. Because much of Asia fell under Japanese control, all non-Asians were imprisoned in concentration camps until August of 1945, the end of the war in the Pacific. As a member of the Dutch Foreign Service in her adult life, Hulda held assignments in twenty-five countries over a period of thirty-six years, retiring in 1996. She is married to an American, James Bachman, a historian and author, and has dual citizenship. Hulda and her husband live in Estes Park, Colorado.
Connect with the author:    website ~ facebook ~ twitter

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Here is the tour schedule. 

Giveaway:​

Prizes: ​ One of Four $25 Amazon Gift Card courtesy of Hulda Bachman-Neeb, author of PERIL AND PEARLS (ends May 8)
To ENTER, Click on HERE!

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TOUR SCHEDULE:
April 20th: - Launch
Locks, Hooks and Books - Excerpt
Rockiin' Book Reviews - Review
Hearts & Scribbles - Excerpt
April 21st:
Remembrancy - Excerpt
Splashes of Joy - Excerpt
April 22nd:
Wishful Endings - Excerpt
Christy's Cozy Corners - Excerpt
April 23rd:
Baroness' Book Trove - Review
Hallie Reads - Excerpt
April 24th:
Teatime and Books - Review
Reading Is My SuperPower - Excerpt
April 25th: - Grand Finale