A beautiful rendition of one woman’s choices and their consequences cascading across every entity of her life, family and future.

The Storm We Made brings historical truths, fictional entertainment and family dynamics into a single story of heartbreak, despair and survival.

Malayan life in 1945 for the locals is not an easy one. Under British rule, the natives constantly struggle to survive and meet the demands of the western colonists governing their nation. Cecily Alcantara has had enough. Every aspect of life is a struggle and she decides there must be a better way to live.

When she meets an intriguing man at an evening party, her life soon begins to take a turn she never imagined. She is brought into a life a secrecy and deception. Her unrelenting hatred and despair begins to lighten with this new and exciting adventure. However, this relief is short lived. Soon, things no longer seem to be moving in the direction she imagined.

Cecily’s choices and deception begin to effect aspects of her life she never imagined. The storm she created for her world may never cease, her despair and depression may never ease after the torrential damage she has caused.

The Storm We Made is not a light read, although it is a quick read. It is a heavy hearted, emotional novel that tells the truth behind the history of this Asian colony caught in the midst of a power struggle during the height of World World II.

Cecily is a Malayan woman who grew up to live the life expected of her. She married a local man, raised 3 children and played the role of doting housewife. Her emotional turmoil and depression constantly a struggle to keep at bay. At times, her emotions seep through and explode into the world around her, mainly impacted her husband and children. Cecily’s character was so perfectly depicted as a woman with two faces. Her internal battle to control this anger and resentment never ceases, through the entire novel. This makes her a difficult character to actually like as a protagonist. However, her character arch is incredibly intriguing and easy to read.

My heart absolutely broke for her children, especially Abel, who was caught in the lightening of this storm. After his capture, we see his soul break. His once sparkling charisma no longer shines. His imprisonment, torture and addiction steal his future. The writing style is an elegant depiction of the work camps of Malaya and takes us through Abel’s journey in such intricate detail.

Cecily’s daughters do not remain unscathed in this storm, either. Her oldest is left to care for her sickly, depressed father who has lost his will to support their family, attempt to control her quickly spiraling mother and protect her youngest sister from the vicious Japanese soldiers known for their brutality on young girls. This stress on Jujube’s mentality is not a light one. It weighs on her each day, creating such hatred of her new life that she feels there may be no way to survive.

In a much different way, Jasmine, the youngest daughter, feels the same. She feels abandoned by her parents, too controlled by her sister, and lonely from the disappearance of her brother. These emotions eventually lead her to run away from home, into the arms of the person her mother fears the most.

This story is told from the point of view of all the children and Cecily. The time jumps from Cecily’s original actions and introduction to General Fujiwara (about 10 years ago), up to the current day of 1945 is handled nicely. It seems to pull things together in a neat manner, so the reader understands the journey taken by Cecily to reach this point.

I enjoyed the angle of Jujube’s perspective the most. Her struggle was incredibly different from Abel, but still significant. Abel’s experience was so gut-wrenching that it was difficult for me to read. My heart broke for him. The same goes for Jasmine’s story line. I loved her life and light, and to see that extinguish and the irony of how it happened is almost too much. Cecily’s actions were just so selfish and unguided, that it also made her chapters very conflicting for me.

This was a magnificent story. I loved it even though it broke my heart!

Buy The Storm We Made HERE!