Book Review of
Guerrilla Wife
Guerrilla Wife, first published in 1946, is Louise Spencer’s account of her experiences in the mountains and jungles of the Philippines during the World War II. Spencer, along with her husband were living on Masbate at the time of the Japanese bombings of Pearl Harbor and the Philippines. Rather than surrender and face imprisonment, the Spencers and several other families (including Claude Fertig, brother of Wendell Fertig who led guerrilla forces on the island of Mindanao) banded together and fled to the jungle-covered mountains of Masbate, and then crossed the sea in a small boat to Panay. Guerrilla Wife details their struggle to survive, their friendship with missionaries and Filipino guerrillas, her giving birth to a daughter, and finally their escape by submarine to Australia.
Grace's Review
This is one of my favorite books of all time. Guerrilla Wife gives a different perspective on World War II. This story is a personal experience of a woman, her husband, and her friends as they survived the Japanese take over of the Philippians. This is a great story that has an interesting personal story. The book shows the reality of day to day life that we do not normally consider. I highly recommend this book because of the view it takes on World War II and the surrounding events.
Love the book gives me a great insight into my father’s upbringing during that time of his life
Thank you for letting us know that you enjoyed Guerrilla Wife as well. Very few people seem to know about this book, so it is nice to know someone else enjoyed it too.
I found this book years ago, probably at a yardsale; it’s been stored while we moved. I unpacked it, thinking I’d give it away–it’s like pulling teeth to give a book away before reading it–so I read it over a couple months, between other books. The emotions Guerilla Wife pulls up for me are heavy; my husband has passed away, and I don’t have a man-of-all-work, either. I enjoyed this book; Louise Spencer writes well, expresses her emotions clearly and without becoming maudlin, but you know she felt it all. I wonder how her adjustment to middle-class life in the U.S. went. Was it like going home and did she look back on her Philippine experience as behind her? Or did she recognize things in America that needed improved? I wonder if she was more sympathetic to people who have not, afterwards.
Thank you for sharing that about the Guerrilla. Not a lot of people know about this book, but it is such a good read.