Ingrid Coles

Ingrid Coles, wife, mother, grandmother of ten, retired nurse and hobby gardener, may seem to be an ordinary person, but appearances can be deceiving.

Born in Java, Indonesia, in November 1942 she and her family endured imprisonment by the Japanese invaders for almost three years. At liberation from the Japanese, in August 1945, they then faced the Indonesian War of Independence until May 1946, when it became so dangerous for civilians that they had to be evacuated to their motherland, the Netherlands. But, initially, Holland was no picnic either!

Ingrid writes about, her family's war experiences, her childhood, her by now widowed mother's struggles to make ends meet on a small widow's pension and the unwelcome response because of their Asian connection. All this made difficult through having to cope as a family when they were all emotionally scarred as a result of their wartime trauma.

However, Ingrid, is not daunted by adversity. Orphaned when barely 16, she has a clear idea of her future calling and emigrates to New Zealand to begin nursing training four months later.
Ingrid traces her background and growing up years and reveals the secret of her successful time in her country of adoption and how she overcomes the hurts and hurdles of the past.