Hey, it's Empire's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbaung. There are things we don't talk about.

You know, this is true on a smaller scale. I bet there's stuff you don't talk about with, say,

your family. And it's true on a larger societal scale. You know, there are just things most people

avoid talking about in detail because it makes us feel bad in some way.

Today, we've got two books that deal with these topics that mostly go on talked about.

In a bit, we'll hear from author Alice McDermott, whose latest novel talks openly about miscarriages.

But first, Venista Chan's book, The Storm We Made, takes place in Malay,

underneath Japanese colonial rule during World War II. And Chan tells NPR's Rob Schmitz that

it's an aspect of the war that rarely makes it into the history books, in part because of how

reticent the survivors of the occupation are to talk about everything they went through.

That's in a minute.

In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.

Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors on our new show, sources and methods.

NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people, helping you

understand why distant events matter here at home. Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or

wherever you get your podcasts. In a new book, The Storm We Made, author Vanessa Chan,

weaves the complicated and intriguing tale of a family navigating colonial Malaya,

now known as Malaysia. A mother trying to find meaning becomes a spy for Japanese occupiers. Her eldest

daughter tries to keep her youngest out of the so-called comfort homes and a son who disappears

suddenly into the Japanese labor camps. The horror of wars may be a main character in the book,

but it's also

the story of what people do to try and survive these horrors. Vanessa Chan joins us now. Welcome to

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