Ronny Herman de Jong, born and raised on the Island of Java in the Dutch East Indies, survived four years in Japanese concentration camps during World War Two in the Pacific.
A B.A. in English Literature from Leiden University in the Netherlands served her well, since she emigrated to the United States in 1972 with her husband, three children and their dog. Later on she translated her mother's secret camp journal which became the basis for her first book IN THE SHADOW OF THE SUN, published in 1992, and her memoir RISING FROM THE SHADOW OF THE SUN, A STORY OF LOVE, SURVIVAL AND JOY, published in 2011.
In 2013, one of Ronny's short stories, "Kill or Cure" was published in a Memoir Anthology of Karenzo Media: "What's Your Story"
On July 15, 2005 Ronny became a United States Citizen, and moved with her husband from Pasadena, California to Onomea on the Big Island of Hawai'i; from Hawai'i to Prescott, Arizona, and from Arizona to Cary, North Carolina, where they live close to her son, daughter-in-law and three grandsons. To be close to family is a joy! The dogs in her life? Roy and Barney, Lani and Koa, finally Isabelle, a wonderful Rottweiler. Ronny and her husband downsized in Cary, but soon another little friend joined them in their Golden Years: a mini Goldendoodle they named Lani.
On August 15, 2014 Ronny published an Anthology: SURVIVORS OF WWII IN THE PACIFIC, stories by teenage survivors of the Japanese prison camps and survivors of the United States Navy, who fought and suffered in WWII; all different yet similar personal memories that she felt needed to be preserved for posterity as historical evidence of the suffering and heroic actions of civilians and military alike.
In November 2015, four years after the death of her mother, who died in the Netherlands at the age of almost 102, Ronny published the Second Edition of RISING FROM THE SHADOW OF THE SUN, A STORY OF LOVE, SURVIVAL AND JOY, with more particulars based on further research (the declassification of the Japanese War Crimes Files as part of the NARA Files), better maps and pictures: THE COMPLETE STORY.
In January 2017, she released a non-fiction ebook, ANGUISHED, dealing with the mis-treatment of seniors in assisted living and nursing homes, and in particular her mother's final years.
On December 01, 2017, Ronny published an audiobook of RISING FROM THE SHADOW OF THE SUN, read by STEPHANIE DILLARD. It is available through many channels, including Libraries.
Ronny is a Life Time Honorary Professional Member of the SSA, the Society of Southwestern Authors and PWP, the Professional Writers of Prescott. She has been interviewed on Radio and Television shows in Arizona, Hawai'i, North Carolina, the Netherlands, and on SBS Dutch Radio in Australia. Her favorite pastimes are dancing (including Hula), traveling, reading, translating, walking, swimming and snorkeling. Her family, including 7 grandchildren, always comes first.
Ronny has two favorite motto's: REACH FOR THE STARS! YOU MAY NOT ACTUALLY GET ONE, BUT YOU WON'T COME UP WITH A HANDFUL OF MUD EITHER!
and:
LIFE IS LIKE BEING ALONE IN A LITTLE KAYAK ON A RIVER. IF YOU DON'T CONSCIOUSLY DIRECT YOUR OWN MIND TO WHERE YOU WANT TO GO IN LIFE YOU MAY END UP WHERE YOU DON'T WANT TO BE.
Ronny's Website: http://www.ronnyhermandejong.com.
The link to her new AUDIOBOOK on YouTube is: https://youtu.be/UCx6HDl-RIU
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