In 1914, a young Ukrainian family faces an uncertain future. With growing political unrest in the region, they are forced to make a difficult decision between remaining in their beloved homeland or reaching for a better life across the cold Atlantic. In the end, Myk makes the hardest choice of his life and leaves his wife and two young children, with hopes of quickly saving enough money to send for them. Things don’t go as planned: WWI breaks out shortly after his departure, leaving his family at the mercy of enemy forces, whose violence and cruelty drive his wife, Lilia, and their children out of their home village. Meanwhile, in Canada, Myk finds himself at the mercy of the authorities, who no longer look upon him as a welcomed immigrant worker but as a potential threat to national security. He is left without a means of contacting his loved ones, as he struggles to survive countless obstacles to achieving his family's dream of reuniting one day. A story of love, enduring patience, and faith, Heart Stones – A Ukrainian Immigration Story of Love and Hope is based on the real experiences of the author’s grandparents and paints a poignant and compelling picture that touches on the many historical events of the time with which many people today are sadly and blissfully unaware. This incredibly important story will change that... and its readers.

Silent Memories — Traumatic Lives is a quest for understanding, an attempt to make sense of the very emotional history of the Ukrainian post-war migrants to Western Australia. Ukrainian migrants arrived in Australia by ship between 1947 and 1951, from the Displaced Persons camps of Europe, survivors of the worst of the Soviet regime’s atrocities, including genocidal famine, and only recently released from forced unpaid labour under the German Nazi regime. The testimonies of Ukrainian famine survivors included in this book reflect the findings of similar studies carried out in Ukrainian communities throughout the world. This work adds to mounting evidence of the genocidal nature of the Ukrainian famine of 1932–1933 and the lasting effects it has had on survivors.