"I would prefer not to have to write this book, to have no topic for it, for my brother to be alive, and not for my book to be printed..."
With these words, Olesia Khromeychuk begins her story, a book that should not have been written, the story of a soldier's death, told by his sister. This is a very personal story, but at the same time, it is the story of tens of thousands of Ukrainian families, the story of losses and their living.
Volodymyr Pavliv, Olesia's brother, is a soldier who died at the front in March 2017, a few years before the start of the full-scale invasion. "This is a European war that just started in the east of Ukraine" - these are the words Volodymyr explained to Olesya about his choice to return to the front line. He died soon after.
"Good afternoon. I am from the military unit where your brother is serving"... Death. Denial. Anger. Depression. Adoption. No story can bring back loved ones, but sometimes someone else's story can help us understand and survive the loss. There is a war going on in our country, people are dying every day - defenders, lovers, parents, children, brothers, and sisters. And all we can do is learn to live with this loss. Olesia Khromeychuk shares her story in this book.
Olesia Khromeychuk is a historian and director of the Ukrainian Institute in London.
