AFTER THE JAPANESE EMPIRE COLLAPSED OVERNIGHT, CIVILIANS WERE ABANDONED TO FIGHT FOR THEIR LIVES

When Soviet forces stormed into Manchuria at the end of World War II, a young mother was left alone with her small children in a world suddenly filled with terror and uncertainty. In her fight for survival in the face of hunger, disease, violence, and bitter cold, she became a strong, independent woman determined to keep her children alive.

Drawing on her mother’s memoir, Kay Enokido vividly portrays the relentless dangers civilians endured as Japan’s Manchurian puppet state disappeared overnight. Weaving in the accounts of fellow survivors, she brings depth and perspective to a turbulent chapter of history little known in the West.

Phantom Paradise blends one family’s survival story with the wider sweep of political and historical events. It is both gripping and deeply personal—a testament to resilience in the face of chaos, and a powerful reminder that the true cost of war is ultimately borne by ordinary people.