Filipino woman carries family cross to safety. Leyte, Philippines. November 6, 1944
I am fascinated by the ability of faith to survive in the worst of tribulations. Living in the comforts of Canada and America almost all my life, the suffering of war is incomprehensible to me. Likewise, so is this kind of faith.
As I try to study and relive the events of history 70 years ago, I find my own faith tested. I find that my faith fails on so many levels. Anger and hatred overwhelm me, not only for the perpetrators of war crimes, but also, dare I say it - against God who allowed such things to happen.
One of the benefits of writing a novel rather than a biography or a history book, is that the author is permitted to explore his/her own responses to the events of the story. Yes, that means I can rage against man's inhumanity to man, and I can be politically incorrect. I can rampage with the written word against human and divine injustice. And after that, and in-between and upside down, I can mourn my own shallowness, and the failings of my untested, prosperity-based faith.
In this journey to write the history behind my novel, I have learned great lessons from the Filipinos who lived through World War II. I still continue to learn, reading their stories - there are so many online, and I come upon them with surprise that such incredible stories are not widely known. So many of them tell the story of profound faith, like this photo of a woman clinging to this Cross, despite seemingly unanswered prayers, terrible suffering and the loss of family, possessions and every human comfort.
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