Under the Same Moon by Peter Mitchell

Under The Same Moon is a distinctive narrative that weaves together the lives of a family, their sons, and the men of the battalion they join, all set against the backdrop of a now-vanished Australia of World War II. This compelling historical account breathes life into the people and places of the era, creating a sense of immediacy and intimacy that captivates you.

Drawing extensively from unpublished and previously unseen written accounts, oral histories, letters, and archival materials, Under The Same Moon provides a deeply personal exploration of the lesser-known Australian campaign in the Middle East. It captures the dramatic separation of a group of men from their Australia-bound convoy and their arrival in Java, teetering on the brink of collapse, while illuminating the fears and anxieties of families left in the dark.

An unforgettable story of love, comradeship, bravery and courage, laced with humour, suffering and beauty. Through its rich narrative, Under The Same Moon invites readers to experience the profound human connections forged in times of turmoil.

• Written from never seen before, letters, diaries and oral histories.
• Captures with great emotive power and force the wartime experience on the home-front in Australia and the brutality and violence of the battle experience of war.
• A vivid portrait of the most desperate chapter in our nation's history

About the Author

Peter is a lawyer by training and was a partner in a major law firm. More recently, for many years he ran a regional non-profit organisation, based in Singapore. History is his passion. He grew up listening to his father and his friends regularly talk about their wartime experiences and has read extensively. He lived in Singapore for twenty years and has travelled and worked extensively throughout Asia. He is married and has three adult children.

Recommendations

Peter Mitchell’s intimate tale of some Australians drawn out of their everyday lives and into the war in the Middle East is by turns touching and horrifying, galvanizing and tragic. As a contribution to the extensive history of Australia at war, and as a human story, it’s a gem.

- Don Watson

Peter Mitchell’s Under the Same Moon delivers a stirring epic of a family, as well as a nation at war. The story’s great canvass spans the globe from Depression-era Melbourne, to the Middle East and the odd forgotten war against the Vichy French, to the Indian Ocean and the hopeless, tragic efforts to stem the Japanese as they swept across the Pacific in 1942. It is a love story, a war story, and a vivid portrait of the most desperate chapter in our nation’s history.

- Michael Veitch

This story of war and peace - of love and separation, combat and capture, anxiety and hope - captures the extraordinary yet everyday experience of one Australian family in the 1930s and 1940s, as recorded in an intimate archive of letters and memories.

- Alistair Thomson, Emeritus Professor, Monash University, author of Anzac Memories: Living with the Legend.

Under the Same Moon is a moving and intimate portrait of two brothers at war. It arouses feelings of pride and awe as it explores the love, the loyalty and the achievement of two unremarkable Australian soldiers.

- Michael McKernan, Historian

Under the Same Moon is a compelling, highly engaging and thrilling creative non-fiction history. It captures with great emotive power and force the wartime experience of the home-front in Melbourne and Victoria and the brutality and violence of the battle experience of war. Drawing on family letters, memoirs and correspondence, it shows with intense clarity the deep emotions evoked by the experience of war, and the haunting impact of it for families through the enduring legacy of war. At its centre it is an inspiring, moving and unforgettable story about the relationships which form in the most devastating of circumstances but which despite these challenges, thrive, flourish and prosper.

- Professor Joy Damousi, author of The Labour of Loss: Mourning, Memory and Wartime Bereavement in Australia.

Interesting links

Links to pages about the book on publisher Big Sky's website and the author's website:

https://www.bigskypublishing.com.au/books/under-the-same-moon/

www.peterfmitchell.com

Link to Michael McKernan's speech at a recent launch of the book

https://www.peterfmitchell.com/under-the-same-moon