Dear Laura, A Lost Chapter of World War II
“An evocative tale of history and family.”
– Kirkus Reviews
“A poignant intergenerational story that champions enduring love in a world often clouded by hate.”
– Indies Today
FINALIST 2026 Kirkus Indie Award, Memoir
WINNER Indies Today 2026 Historical Book Award
What if your father’s silence was hiding a lost chapter of World War II?
When Laura Elliott began asking her father questions, she uncovered a story no one had fully told–one that began in Indonesia and led to her family’s imprisonment in Japan during the war. For years, she had only fragments. Scattered clues. Questions no one could fully answer. Why had her father’s father, and four other radio engineers and their families, been taken prisoner? Why were their families held with them? What had really happened during those lost years?
But this is not only his story. In the wake of her own heartache after divorce, Laura finds herself searching–not just for the truth about her father’s past, but for her own answers about life and love. As she follows his journey across continents and through history, another story unfolds in parallel: her own.
Decades later, guided by letters written across generations and an around-the-world journey to the places her father once lived, Laura begins to piece together the truth–uncovering not just a hidden chapter of World War II, but a powerful story of forgiveness, resilience, love, loss, and the quiet courage that shapes who we become.
Told with warmth and emotional depth, Dear Laura is a story about what we inherit, what we uncover, and how the past can help us find our way forward.
“An evocative tale of history and family. The author’s painstaking research and her evident love for her father are felt throughout this emotional read. As Elliott asks, ‘How many sentences have incredible backstories? How many epics lie in the footnotes of history?’ Her endeavor to find out is a worthy one.”
Kirkus Reviews
For Readers Who...
For readers who enjoy Unbroken, The Pianist and Eat, Pray, Love, and for anyone drawn to true stories of survival, family, and personal transformation.
Dear Laura is available at Bookshop Santa Cruz.
Media Appearances
About Laura
As a teenager, Laura’s love of story began in the Amazon where she water skied with piranhas while learning about head hunters. A ghostwriter of best-selling, award-winning books and screenplays, she lives at the beach in Santa Cruz, CA, with her husband, near her daughters and grandchildren. XC skiing, boating, hiking, cooking, laughing and travel are her joys. Her search for the truth, wherever it leads, calls her on many adventures. Some come in heartbeats and others in decades. Dear Laura, A Lost Chapter of WWII is her first memoir. She recently recorded the audiobook for Dear Laura which will be available at the end of July, 2026. Laura enjoys speaking about joy, forgiveness and history. She is available for keynotes and other speaking engagements.
Latest Reviews
Dear Reader
We live during a time when it’s easy to be outwardly focused — to know the intimate details of a celebrity’s life, to follow the latest reel, to feel connected to people we will never actually meet. Yet while writing Dear Laura, I was reminded of something far more extraordinary: the most remarkable stories are often sitting quietly at our own kitchen tables.
This book began as a daughter’s attempt to better understand her father. What unfolded was a journey across decades and continents — a story shaped by war, displacement, forgiveness, resilience, silence, and enduring love. But more than that, it became an awakening. I realized how little I truly knew about Dad, someone I loved so deeply.
We sometimes assume we know our parents, our grandparents, our spouses — because we know their habits, their expressions, their routines. But beneath the surface are chapters we’ve never read. Untold fears. Private sacrifices and acts of courage.
Releasing this book on the 80th anniversary of V-J Day felt especially meaningful since it was the day that the U.S. Marines saved my family, who were Japanese POWs, off a beach in Hamamatsu, Japan. The generation that carried the weight of World War II is leaving us. Their stories will survive only if we choose to ask, listen, and preserve them.
Indies Today honored Dear Laura as the 2026 Best Historical Book Winner, announcing the award on my father’s 102nd heavenly birthday. I couldn’t help but feel the timing was more than a coincidence.
Recently, Kirkus honored Dear Laura by announcing it as a finalist for the first-ever 2026 Indie Book Award in the memoir category. The official announcement was made the day that my husband and I boarded Blue Moon, our beloved boat, after three years away from her. Again, the timing was amazing. In Dear Laura I write about the four special summers aboard the boat that enabled me to finish the story.
Dear Laura began with a daughter trying to understand her father. To see it recognized in his name on these special days feels like another of the Lord’s many tender mercies I experienced during the writing of the book. Over those decades, I wanted to give Dad the story as a present one day. As it happened, the book was published ten years after his death. However, I now know that Dear Laura has really been his gift to me. And I hope you enjoy it, too.
Writing Dear Laura was a profound joy — not simply because I uncovered history, but because Dad and I got to know each other (and ourselves) in ways we never would have had we not gone on this incredible journey together. There is something sacred about turning toward the people closest to us and saying, “Tell me your story.” It deepens love. It reshapes memory. It changes us.
I hope Dear Laura gives you courage during seasons of uncertainty and gently nudges you inward — toward your own family and your own history. The next time you feel drawn into someone else’s social media reel, I hope you’ll also feel inspired to ask a question of someone you love.
The most compelling stories are not always the loudest. Often, they are the ones waiting patiently at home. Thank you for reading. I’d love to connect with you. Go Big! Laura