To be published on what will be the 80th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, survivor Setsuko Thurlow shares her memories of that horrific event and her resulting lifelong commitment to activism to ban nuclear arms.
When Setsuko Thurlow was thirteen, she witnessed one of history’s most horrific events. She experienced—and survived—the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. Since then, she has worked tirelessly to educate people about the catastrophe and to ensure that it never happens again. As a leading member of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), she gave the acceptance speech when the organization won the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize.
Never Silent recounts Setsuko’s earliest memories of her happy life in Hiroshima, followed by the devastating firsthand impact she witnesses after the dropping of the atomic bomb, and finally traces the steps she takes to rebuild a life in the aftermath of her experiences. With informational text scattered throughout the book to give historical context for the places and events, readers are given a full and profoundly affecting picture of what it was like after the bomb dropped, the struggle to return to normalcy, and the plea for activism to ban nuclear weapons.
Arvustused
A moving and nuanced account of the impact of warand an encouraging call to action. Kirkus Reviews, 07/15/25
Introduction
Setsukos Message
Section One
The
Before Time
Growing up in Hiroshima, my family
was descended from the line of samurai
Our
Life in Wartime
As a 13-year-old schoolgirl I
received special training in decoding messages
A
Visit to Hiroshima
A brief history of the city of Hiroshima
with a visit to the Hiroshima Memorial Peace Park
The
World Goes to War 1939-1945
Adolf Hitler and the Nazis bring on
World War II
Japan
in World War II
Japan allies itself with Germany as
a military global power
Japan
at War Timeline
Key dates of events in Japans
military history
Section Two
The
Living and the Dead
I look back at the impact of the bomb,
and what it was like being trapped under rubble
The
Next Days
Reunited with my parents who also survived,
together we dealt with the devastating effects of the bomb
Aftermath
In the weeks and months that
followed the bombing, I witnessed many people becoming sick and dying
Life
Under Occupation
The rationale for the Americans deciding
to drop the atomic bomb. American and British occupying forces bring much
needed changes to Japan, but evidence of the destructive impact of the
atomic
bomb is hidden
Little
Boy and Fat Man
The power and magnitude of the bombs
dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Section Three
The Silence Lifts
My move to the United States to study, my vow to never be silent, and my
growing involvement with the peace movement
The
Atomic Age is Born
The publics fascination with the power of
the atomic bomb from comic books to further nuclear testing
Section Four
Ban the Bomb!
A world movement to ban nuclear weapons begins in 1958
My Fight for Peace
I was determined that the world would know about the horrors of the atomic
bomb so that calamity would never happen again
A Call to Action
You too can get involved!
Sources
Acknowledgements
Credits
Setsuko Thurlow was thireen years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, the city she grew up in. Setsuko survived the blast, but that event shaped her life, as she worked tirelessly to make sure that no one would ever again experience that horrific event.
Setsuko has devoted her adult life to campaigning for nuclear disarmament, working with the organization ICAN, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017. Setsuko lives in Toronto, Canada.
KATHY LOWINGER is an award-winning author whose books include Give Me Wings! How a Choir of Former Slaves Took on the World (2015), Turtle Island: The Story of North Americas First People (2017), and What the Eagle Sees: Indigenous Stories of Rebellion and Renewal (2019).
MICHELLE THEODORE is an illustrator born and raised under the prairie skies in Edmonton, Alberta. As a landlocked yonsei, she is often reminiscing about coastal summers with family, inspired by her times on beaches collecting sand dollars and eating homemade salmon jerky.
