Never Silent

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 America’s 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.

“A moving and nuanced account of the impact of war—and an encouraging call to action.”  —Kirkus Reviews, 07/15/25

• IntroductionSetsuko’s MessageSection OneTheBefore Time Growing up in Hiroshima, my familywas descended from the line of samuraiOurLife in WartimeAs a 13-year-old schoolgirl Ireceived special training in decoding messagesAVisit to HiroshimaA brief history of the city of Hiroshimawith a visit to the Hiroshima Memorial Peace ParkTheWorld Goes to War 1939-1945Adolf Hitler and the Nazis bring onWorld War IIJapanin World War IIJapan allies itself with Germany asa military global powerJapanat War TimelineKey dates of events in Japan’smilitary history Section TwoTheLiving and the DeadI look back at the impact of the bomb,and what it was like being trapped under rubble TheNext DaysReunited with my parents who also survived,together we dealt with the devastating  effects of the bombAftermathIn the weeks and months thatfollowed the bombing, I witnessed many people becoming sick and dyingLifeUnder OccupationThe rationale for the Americans decidingto drop the atomic bomb. American and British occupying forces bring much  needed changes to Japan, but evidence of the destructive impact of the atomicbomb is hidden LittleBoy and Fat ManThe power and magnitude of the bombsdropped on Hiroshima and NagasakiSection ThreeThe Silence LiftsMy move to the United States to study, my vow to never be silent, and my growing involvement with the peace movementTheAtomic Age is BornThe public’s fascination with the power ofthe atomic bomb from comic books to further nuclear testingSection FourBan the Bomb!A world movement to ban nuclear weapons begins in 1958My Fight for PeaceI was determined that the world would know about the horrors of the atomic bomb so that calamity would never happen againA Call to ActionYou too can get involved!SourcesAcknowledgementsCredits