Trapped In Paradise: Catholic Nuns in the South Pacific 1940-1943

In September 1940, four nuns set sail on a journey that would carry them to the edge of the world-and into the heart of one of the most dangerous conflicts in history. Sisters Hedda Jaeger, Irene Alton, Isabelle Aubin, and Celestine Belanger, members of the Catholic order Sisters of Saint Joseph of Orange, volunteered to serve as missionaries in the remote Solomon Islands, driven by their faith and a desire to bring hope to the forgotten corners of the South Pacific. But their mission, chronicled through the meticulous journals of Sister Hedda, would soon become a harrowing tale of endurance, courage, and the will to survive.

Trapped in Paradise is a riveting memoir that uncovers the incredible story of these four women. Told in three powerful parts, their journey begins with the excitement and awe of travel as they leave California aboard the Matson Lines Mariposa. The first months are filled with wonder as they stop in Honolulu, Samoa, and Fiji, soaking in the beauty of the Pacific's sun-kissed shores. Their mission, however, takes them deeper into the unknown-through New Zealand, Australia, and finally, the untamed wilderness of the Solomon Islands. After weeks of dangerous sailing and island-hopping, they arrive at Buka Island, where they are greeted by a new and harsh reality.

Life on Buka is a stark contrast to the tropical paradises they've left behind. Carried ashore in canoes by local islanders, they climb towering cliffs to reach the mission that will become their home. Their beds are hammocks, their meals drawn from gardens filled with chickens, pigs, and goats. In this wild, foreign land, they throw themselves into their work at a local hospital and school, embracing their mission even as the shadow of war darkens the world around them.

A year into their mission, that shadow falls upon them. News of the attack on Pearl Harbor shatters their isolated existence. Despite orders from Australian authorities to evacuate, the sisters refuse to abandon the people they have come to serve. But in March 1942, the storm finally reaches them. The Japanese invade Bougainville, and the serene island life descends into chaos. Their close companion, Father Hennessey, is seized by the Japanese, never to be seen again. As reports of other missionaries being executed by the invaders spread, the sisters face an impossible choice-stay and risk certain death or flee into the jungle.

Hiding among the dense, treacherous mountains of Bougainville, they live on the run, always just steps ahead of Japanese patrols. Their faith is tested to its very limits as they pray for a way out of this nightmare. In a daring escape that seems too miraculous to believe, they are rescued on New Year's Eve 1942 by the USS Nautilus, an American submarine that slips through enemy waters to deliver them to safety.

Yet even in freedom, their story is not over. Father Lamarre, the courageous priest who stayed behind to help them escape, is taken prisoner and sent to a brutal POW camp. His survival, against impossible odds, allows him to later recount the tragic fate of those who couldn't flee.

Trappe in Paradise is not just the story of four women; it is a testament to the power of faith, the resilience of the human spirit, and the courage it takes to face down evil in the most unforgiving of circumstances. With original maps, photographs, and the transcribed journals of Sister Hedda, this book brings to life a chapter of history that has remained in the shadows for far too long. It is a story of survival in the darkest of times-a story that will grip your heart and leave you breathless.