Double Emerald

Ruud Severijns began this family history when he became a father in the early 1980s. During his research, he increasingly discovered that major events in world history also directly impact the lives of ordinary people like the Severijns family. This history begins in the Netherlands but extends from Indonesia to America and Europe, and then back to the Netherlands via Northern Ireland and London.

Review by Professor Arnoud-Jan Bijsterveld, Historian at  the Dutch Tilburg University; A compelling family history that saddens us about what people just one or two generations ago had to endure as a result of war, racism, and violence, yet also leaves us optimistic because of the resilience, zest for life, and humanity of its protagonists. Fascinating: a book that offers both insight and hope.