A woman who spent her childhood in sa国际传媒 has written a book about Russiasa国际传媒 invasion of Ukraine - but this one took place 100 years ago.
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Cynthia LeBrun was born in sa国际传媒 and lived here for the first 13 years of her life. Her family moved to California and she lived there for seven years, before she returned to sa国际传媒 at age 20.
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She became a teacher and taught school while living in the Comox Valley for 30 years and recently moved to Prince George a month ago.
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Lebrun is the proud author of 鈥淏lack Sunflowers鈥, which was just published in July and is doing exceptionally well since its release.
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Itsa国际传媒 her first published work and is the culmination of 20 years of hard work to get published, she said. Itsa国际传媒 also more than 500 pages long, another sign of how much work she put into it.
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The historical fiction is told through the eyes of her real-life mother-in-law Veronika and her struggle, along with her family, to survive Soviet-occupied Ukraine from the early 1920s to the early 1940s, said Lebrun, in a phone interview from Prince George earlier this week.
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鈥淏lack Sunflowers illuminates one of the darkest times in Ukrainian history,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t tells how the people suffered in the Holodomor (English translation is death by hunger) under Stalin. Not only is the book based on the memories of my mother-in-law, whom I interviewed extensively, but is heavily researched and fact-based.鈥
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The book is a story of survival for a tight-knit family that endures so much under Stalinsa国际传媒 autocratic rule. Told in Veronikasa国际传媒 and her father Janeksa国际传媒 alternating perspectives, the book is grounded in historical research, she said.
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Janeksa国际传媒 perspective gives voice to the violent brutality of Soviet rule and the heartbreak of trying to provide for onesa国际传媒 family under an authoritarian regime, while Veronikasa国际传媒 chapters offer moments of levity and youthful hope, she said.
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A significant moment in Ukrainian history is brought to light in an accessible, moving, and personal way, she said.
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鈥淏lack Sunflowers is a riveting novel of one close-knit familysa国际传媒 survival, resilience and perseverance under two invading, totalitarian regimes,鈥 she said. 鈥淗istorically accurate, it takes place during the Soviet occupation of Ukraine from the early 1920s into Nazi Germanysa国际传媒 invasion in 1941.
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鈥淚t vividly describes the experiences of a young girl and her father, exposed to the injustices of two dictatorships determined to subjugate the population.鈥
Veronikasa国际传媒 father Janek guides her, teaching her life skills to survive such difficult times with humanity, she said.
Veronikasa国际传媒 father Janek guides her, teaching her life skills to survive such difficult times with humanity, she said.
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鈥淰eronika and Janeksa国际传媒 story is a haunting, yet uplifting testimony to the strengths and humanity of the people of Ukraine,鈥 she said.
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A big reason the book took two decades to complete was ensuring that all the information her mother-in-law gave her was historically accurate.
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听She spent endless hours in libraries and online doing research, she said.
鈥淚 contacted numerous historians to make sure what I had written was true and accurate,鈥 she said.
鈥淚 contacted numerous historians to make sure what I had written was true and accurate,鈥 she said.
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Her book has been endorsed by Valentina Kuryliw, Director of Education of the Holodomor Research and Education Consortium at the University of Alberta and one of the worldsa国际传媒 leading experts, said Lebrun.
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鈥淚 was very honoured to get her endorsement,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t took a lot of time and hard work to finish the research before I could finish the book.鈥
The book has not only sold well since being published, but it captured a Petersen Emerging Writer Award, which she is very proud of, said Lebrun.
The book has not only sold well since being published, but it captured a Petersen Emerging Writer Award, which she is very proud of, said Lebrun.
The award recognizes books that promote a better understanding of Ukraine and its people, she said.
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Black Sunflowers was given a rave review from Kirkus, a trusted source for writers and publishers around the world, she said.
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鈥淜irkus is the gold standard of book reviews,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t is prestigious and rare to have a book reviewed by Kirkus and a positive review is even rarer. Most Canadian books do not get reviewed on Kirkus.鈥
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When asked about the title of the book, LeBrun said we will have to read it to discover the symbolism of black sunflowers in Ukrainian culture.
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鈥淭hatsa国际传媒 a mystery that will only be solved when people read the book,鈥 she said.
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To become a published author is one of the proudest accomplishments of her life, said LeBrun.
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鈥淚 am very thrilled,鈥 she said. 鈥淭he fact itsa国际传媒 selling to very well and been so warmly received is such an honour. Itsa国际传媒 really rising on the book charts.鈥
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The first run of 2,000 copies are almost sold out and a second run of 5,000 is scheduled to be released very soon, said LeBrun.
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While the book is very dark as it tells such a sad story, it ultimately becomes uplifting and joyous as it shows the power of love and family, she said.
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鈥淚tsa国际传媒 endearing and uplifting, but at the same time, you get a glimpse of what the people had to endure living in that village at that time,鈥 she said.
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LeBrun said shesa国际传媒 just completed a sequel to Black Sunflowers and she hopes to have it published before the end of the year.
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鈥淭he book is finished and going through the editing process,鈥 she said.
The untitled novel continues the story of Veronika and Janek and their family after they endure Stalinsa国际传媒 regime, only to be under Adolf Hitlersa国际传媒 Nazi regime.
The untitled novel continues the story of Veronika and Janek and their family after they endure Stalinsa国际传媒 regime, only to be under Adolf Hitlersa国际传媒 Nazi regime.
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鈥淰eronika is taken to Germany and has to endure forced labour,鈥 she said.
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鈥淔irst they took the Jews out of her village and then they came back for all the Ukrainian and Polish children. The book focuses on what happened to her.鈥
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To promote her book, LeBrun is making a special trip back to sa国际传媒 on Friday, Sept. 20. She will be speaking about her book and signing copies at sa国际传媒 United Church, located at 721 Bernard Ave., from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
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鈥淚鈥檓 actually going to give a presentation about the history of Ukraine as far as being Soviet occupied and then going into the parallels of whatsa国际传媒 taking place today,鈥 she said. 鈥淚鈥檒l then read a chapter of the book. Then there will be a question and answer period.
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鈥淧eople will also have the opportunity to buy the book and have it signed.鈥
