How to Breathe Freely? A Guide to Decolonization

The full-scale war has revealed a bitter truth to us: Russian aggression is not just a struggle for resources and territories. It is the desire to colonize one state by another. And this colonial trauma continues to define our present and influence the future.

Who are we really and what does it mean to be Ukrainian? Do we have the right to be angry when we have to give up our own memories? Can we afford not to know what to do next? And how can we finally breathe freely again? Cultural scholar Mariam Naiem suggests that we learn not to be afraid of our own truth and regain the ability to feel, speak, belong, and love. Each chapter of the book “How to Breathe Freely?” represents a separate stage of decolonization: the first three — anger, shame, confusion — describe psychological traps in which we can remain for decades without finding a way out; the next ones — curiosity, grief, creation, forgiveness — offer tools and practices for getting out of these traps.

It’s a long journey. But you are not alone. Your story is important. And every new step is a great act of freedom.