David Chernushenko knew little of his roots in Ukraine until he received a document from his Aunt Raya in 2021. She had completed a family memoir and was sharing the results. He was immediately hooked—and convinced this extraordinary story should be shared. Then Russian forces launched a full-scale war on Ukraine. David was surprised by how viscerally it affected him. Though this was the native land of his father and aunt’s family, he had never visited and didn’t even speak the language. Like many people, he was upset by Russia’s assault, but why was he so upset? To understand demanded a deep dive; not just into his Ukrainian origins but a retracing of his life’s journey across six momentous decades, as a globe-trotting diplomatic child, ambitious journalist, environmental activist, self-taught filmmaker and novelist and accidental politician. What emerged was a remarkable tale that is equally a family journey, personal voyage and universal story—he is not the only one with family that came from afar, at great risk, to start a new life against all odds. In this genre-bending book David offers Raya’s story and his; sprinkled with historical commentary, then peppered with political writing that is insightful, humorous and furious in equal measure.
