The Death of a Soldier Told by His Sister

"This is the newest of all the books I’m recommending and the least like the others. Written in English and published in 2021, it tells a personal story of the loss of a brother at the front line of the Russian-Ukrainian war. The author’s brother was killed in 2017. He volunteered to serve in the army to defend his country. It was a point at which the rest of the world had more or less forgotten about the war unfolding in Ukraine. The author, Olesya Khromeychuk, tells the story of her loss in this lucid, compassionate manner. I imagine—I cannot say this for sure, because grief is a strange and personal thing—that it can allow many people to come to terms with the losses they are experiencing today. It is important to recognize the sheer longevity of the Russian-Ukrainian war. The book was republished in 2022, and a few chapters were added to reflect upon the full-scale invasion. Khromeychuk’s book brings the entire, almost decade-long history of the war into the present moment. A work of creative nonfiction, it includes imaginative, fairytale-like stories and dream-like moments, evoking the writer’s emotions, memories, and feelings about her brother. In this respect, I’m privileged because I know Olesya well. She is a theater maker, lecturer, and historian. She has always had this creative strength in her personality, which she put into practice in theater. When her brother was killed, she told her story first in the form of a theater play documenting the war and her loss. It was very well received. She writes about the experience of making this play in her book, and the play can be viewed on YouTube. After the play, she realized that her story could be told in a different form, so she decided to transform it into a book. It grew into a very important monument to her brother, and also to many Ukrainian families, in Ukraine and all over the world. It’s a difficult read, but it does not leave you desperate. The book says: you can always transform your grief into fuel to drive you towards making a change in this world. Olesya herself is a beautiful example of that. She’s a wonderfully active advocate for Ukraine and for justice today."