Stubborn Life: Hardship and Hope in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Poland

A memoir of theRussian occupation of Ukraine in the 1930s and the mass deportation of Polesfrom the region."Not an easy read, but an important one." -Historical Novel SocietyThe end of the 1920s, the author's first memory: a knock on the door and the arrest of her uncle, guilty of "anti-Soviet activities." He is to be executed. Born in 1923, a dozen or so kilometers from the pre-war Polish-Soviet border, Franceska Michalska is a citizen of occupied Ukraine. Her family, finding a nest of eggs to eat, miraculously survive the great famine of 1931-32 before falling victim to growing Stalinist terror and the mass deportation of Poles from the region to Kazakhstan. All the while, Franceska dreams of studying medicine. 8,000 km and infinite difficulties later, she enters Poland and becomes a doctor, finally obtaining the Polish nationality she never had. Writing in a heartfelt yet matter-of-fact style, Michalska brilliantly evokes daily life under Russian occupation. Now more than ever, this memoir reads like a warning against history repeating, while at the same time offering a testament to human strength and to hope.

• | Author: Franceska Michalska
• | Publisher: World Editions
• | Publication Date: Nov 05, 2024
• | Number of Pages: 200 pages
• | Binding: Paperback or Softback
• | ISBN-10: 1642861529
• | ISBN-13: 9781642861525