Tag Archive | Heritage Beacon Fiction

Rose Among Thornes by Terrie Todd

The Pain Of War

Rose Among Thornes by Terrie Todd is a really powerful historical Christian novel that revolves around the theme of forgiveness. It has its roots grounded in fact.

The story is set from 1941 in Canada and also in Japanese Prisoner Of War camps. Some Canadians had Japanese roots and were viewed with suspicion by many. ”Overnight, the Onishis had become the enemy.” The Canadian government rounded them all up to re-house them either on farms or in internment camps.

Terrie Todd has written a marvellous tale showing the imprisonment of many during the war years. Some prisons carried on beyond the end of the war as characters imprison themselves through bitterness and unforgiveness.

The racial prejudice towards fellow Canadians is awful to see. “They were patriotic Canadians.” Many of the Japanese Canadians had not stepped foot on Japanese soil, being born in Canada.

Life in a Japanese P.O.W was atrocious. There are some hard to read scenes but the reality would have been far worse. Belief in God was as vital as air and food to survive. Soldiers needed hope for their souls. “Either God did not see him… or He didn’t care, or He was not as powerful.” To question the presence of God was understandable as the cruelty raged. Doubt is not the opposite of faith. Soldiers needed to rely on the deep foundations of their faith in order to call upon it and to cling on to the hope that God did see and would deliver.

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