New on Medium: How Three Generations of My Family Nearly Disappeared from Memory

-

 A new personal essay has just been published on Medium.

In "How Three Generations of My Family Nearly Disappeared from Memory," I share the true story behind the creation of my historical biographical novel Stone.

The article is not about promoting a book. It is about something much more universal: how easily the memories of ordinary families can disappear forever, and why preserving them matters.

If you enjoy family history, memoir, or historical storytelling, I hope you will find it meaningful.

Read the full article on Medium.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Read the Historical Novel "Stone" by Volodymyr Shablia in English

-
Image
Welcome to the English reading guide for " Stone" , the biographical historical novel  by Volodymyr Shablia. Cover of the biographical novel "Stone" Here you can find the author's preface, selected chapters, quotations, and other English-language materials published as they become available. The novel tells the story of an ordinary Ukrainian family whose lives were shaped by the Holodomor, Stalinist repression, the Gulag, and World War II. Author Author's Preface  Dedication and Epigraph The Novel " Stone" Book One — First Steps Toward the Light and Back: Chapter 1 — The Birth of Peter Chapter 2 —  The Name — Peter Chapter 4 — Stalin: The Merciless Whip Chapter 5 — The NKVD Problem Chapter 6 —  The Arrest Chapter 7 —  The Cook Chapter 8 — The Execution Chapter 12 — The Poem Book Two — Difficult Roads to Hell: Chapter 2 — The Offensive Is Called Off Book Three — Unrealized Expectations: Chapter 10 — The Chairman of the Poor Peasants...
Read more

The Birth of Peter — Chapter from the Novel "Stone" by Volodymyr Shablia

-
Image
The Birth of Peter Stone — Book One: First Steps Toward the Light and Back  — Chapter 1 by Volodymyr Shablia January 1920. Ukrainian People’s Republic. The village of Tomakivka, Katerynoslav Governorate. 1920… Chaos steeped in fear, lawlessness, civil war, disease, and endless changes of regime. The Reds with their grain requisitions, the Whites with their haughty imperial plunder, the Makhnovists with their anarchist expropriations and redistribution of everything around them, the bands of Hryhoriev, Marusya, and countless others… Each with its own law. Yet all of them took and killed, raped and looted. Only one institution in Tomakivka continued to function — the hospital. Every warring authority, every general and ataman, needed it: the wounded and the sick had to be treated, and the able-bodied troops fed and given shelter for the night. Iryna Dyrikova, the hospital’s longtime cook, peeled potatoes out of habit: breakfast had to be prepared for the patients. Work was work...
Read more

The Name — Peter — Chapter from the Novel "Stone" by Volodymyr Shablia

-
Image
  The Name — Peter Stone — Book One: First Steps Toward the Light and Back  — Chapter 2   by Volodymyr Shablia January 1920.  The village of Tomakivka , Ukraine . Danylo returned from work toward evening. His mother-in-law came out to meet him, a newborn in her arms. “Congratulations, Danylo! You’re a father. Mariia has given you a son. The boy was born prematurely, but he’s healthy. And Mariia seems to be feeling a little better, too.” Iryna handed the bundle to her son-in-law. The unexpected news left the new father stunned. A whirlwind of conflicting feelings, thoughts, and emotions swept through his mind: ‘A son, an heir! But premature?! And what about typhus? What if he gets sick? I’ve dreamed of having a son all my life! He’ll be Alexander—that’s my favorite name. Hurray!’ Danylo took his son into his arms. The moment he saw him, he fell in love with the beautiful little creature. Afraid of hurting him, yet unable to resist the temptation, the father ...
Read more