When in February 2022 Russia attacked Ukraine full-on from the north, east, and south, a Kyiv Theology Professor joined the Ukrainian defense as a sniper and left the city to fight near Chornobyl. Elsewhere, a small group of Chernihiv residents rescued thousands of locals from the besieged city, using hidden roads to bypass Russian soldiers. Others found themselves under Russian occupation, living in constant fear of Russian soldiers entering their yards. In the midst of war, reality surpasses any fiction.
What does the former businessman feel when he evacuates the bodies of fallen soldiers, day after day? Why do some people choose to live in the rubble of their flattened homes? How do Ukrainian soldiers who survive only because of an amputation cope with recovery, and how do Ukrainian rehabilitation specialists cope with the surge of patients? What continues to motivate people to fight who just yesterday didn't believe such a war was possible?
These 21 stories, collected from diverse regions of Ukraine since the beginning of the 2022 full-scale invasion, speak of courage, resilience, pain, death, love, and hope.
About the Author :
Orysia Hrudka is a freelance author, journalist, book reviewer, and cultural studies researcher based in Ukraine. Since 24 February 2022, she has been writing for Euromaidan Press, focusing mainly on the war, Ukrainian politics, and culture.
Bohdan Ben is a freelance author, journalist, and philosophy researcher based in Ukraine. He has been writing for Euromaidan Press since 2018, covering Ukrainian culture, history, political reforms, and the war.
Review :
This book tells stories of ordinary Ukrainians who became heroes fighting on the frontline and aiding the rear of defense, in service of their country against Russia’s aggression. Anyone who wants to know the reality of war should read this book.
— Winfried Schneider-Deters, Director of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation’s Kyiv Office in 1996–2000
This book unfolds the daily sacrifices Ukrainian soldiers and volunteers make, in their own words.
— Michael Bociurkiw, Senior Fellow Atlantic Council, global affairs analyst (CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera).
Dark Days, Determined People reveals the profound depth and extent to which Ukraine and its survival matter.
— Bohdan Kordan, PhD, Professor Emeritus, Political Studies, University of Saskatchewan.
Dark Days, Determined People is a display of bravery. The book flourishes with courage, not only from Ukraine’s soldiers and volunteers but also from reporters like Hrudka and Ben, who dare to venture into war-torn cities like Irpin, Chernihiv, and other Ukrainian regions to deliver realistic, honest, and prolific reportage. In this formative book, Orysia Hrudka and Bohdan Ben transform not only reporting from Ukraine but also the quality—and importance—of nonfiction writing during this critical time in Ukraine’s history and existence.
— Nicole Yurcaba, Southern New Hampshire University; World Literature Today.
