This blog post is brought to you by Jen G., Eckstrom-Columbus Library.
Just over a year ago, I shared a post here (“Strong Like Baba”) about the resilience of the Ukrainian people in the face of adversity. I am thankful for those who provided feedback on the post and touched by those who reached out to check in on my extended family’s wellbeing. I’m happy to report that my cousins in Lviv remain safe. Despite more than a year of violence and suffering, the Ukrainian people continue to fight fiercely and to stand united—with the generous help of the U.S. and other allies. Yet the war rages on, and peace often feels elusive.
Here in Pima County, Arizona, thousands of miles from the war, our library continues to acquire materials about Ukraine, its troubled present, its fascinating history, and its rich culture. One acquisition very important to me is Liuba Komar’s Scratches on a Prison Wall, a memoir about the WWII-era prison in which my grandmother was also incarcerated for her political views. Another engaging addition to our collection is acclaimed children’s author (and fellow Ukrainian-American) Katherine Marsh’s The Lost Year, a novel for middle-grade readers that was inspired by her own family history and the Holodomor Famine in Ukraine during Stalin’s reign.
If Ukraine’s past and present remain on your mind, as they do on mine, here are several recent additions to our catalog that are well worth a look:
One year after the Russian invasion, Ukraine remains in the news and on our minds. Here are several of Pima County Library's recent non-fiction and fiction acquisitions about the war, Ukraine, and Ukrainians.
