l to r: Setsuko Thurlow (Credit: Jim Allen), Kathy Lowinger (Credit: Linda Kooluris Dobbs), and Michelle Theodore.

When Japan entered the Second World War on Dec. 8, 1941, Setsuko Thurlow’s childhood abruptly ended. By eighth grade, she was selected – along with some of her schoolmates – to help her country decode messages from the front lines. It was on Aug. 6, 1945 – her first official day of work – that Setsuko heard a loud roar, saw a silent flash, and immediately began falling. After regaining consciousness, she was confronted with a harrowing scene of destruction and mutilation. As a survivor of the first atomic bomb dropped on a populated area, she would lose family members and 351 classmates from the bombing and its aftermath.

More than a memoir, Never Silent is an educational text that places the life and work of a Hiroshima disaster survivor at its core. Through many maps and historical images, it provides young readers a greater understanding of 1940s Japan, its role in the Second World War, and the devastating impact the atomic bombs had on its people. Out of 30 child decoders, only three, including Thurlow, survived the blast. Her frank descriptions of how the bomb blast and the radiation exposure destroy the body – such as the purple spots on the skin caused by radiation that presaged death – do not shield children from the grim realities of nuclear war. 

In the latter part of the book, Thurlow recalls her encounters with anti-Asian racism in Canada and the United States, and details the moment that led her to dedicate the rest of her life to peace and nuclear disarmament.

Illustration: Michelle Theodore.

In Never Silent: A Hiroshima Survivor’s Story, Michelle Theodore’s illustrations – earthen tones with minimal colour and sharp lines – effectively portray the heaviness of the book’s theme. In depicting scenes of the bomb’s aftermath, Theodore’s use of scratches across survivors’ bodies conveys the atomic bomb’s destruction – to both people and the environment – without overwhelming young readers with traumatic images.

This book offers a way for educators and parents to talk to young readers about the devastating consequences of war and its long-lasting impacts. Ultimately, Never Silent is a call to action. Thurlow aims to encourage young readers to join the fight to ban nuclear weapons. At a time of ongoing threats of regional wars around the world, Never Silent could not be more relevant. It is a reminder that declaring war is easy, while fixing its aftermath can be near impossible.