I will die, I will die. And nobody will know my grave. And nobody will come and remember, Only the nightingale will sing. Inspired by a real-life story, Black Sunflowers illuminates one of the darkest times in Ukrainian history: the Holodomor or "death by hunger." The book begins in 1928, in Soviet-occupied Ukraine, where Veronika and her family live on their farm in the close-knit village of Kuzmin. Life is good, despite the Soviet occupation, but soon everything they have known and loved is not just altered, but demolished. Told in two voices — Veronika's and her father, Janek's — Black Sunflowers is a vivid account of the brutal realities of life in Ukraine under Stalin. Veronika and Janek's story is a haunting, yet uplifting testimony to the strength and humanity of the people of Ukraine.
Cynthia LeBrun grew up in Kelowna, British Columbia and studied to be a teacher at Simon Fraser University. She taught in a northern one-room schoolhouse west of Fort St. John, as well as the isolated logging camp of Phillips Arm, and finally in Campbell River. Black Sunflowers is inspired by the vivid memories of her mother-in-law, who grew up in Soviet Occupied Ukraine. Cynthia now lives and writes in the beautiful Comox Valley on Vancouver Island, where she enjoys time in her garden and being with her grandsons. Black Sunflowers is her first novel.
"Told in Veronika's and her father Janek's alternating perspectives, this historical account is based on the experiences of the author's mother-in-law and is grounded in historical research. Janek's perspective gives voice to the violent brutality of Soviet rule and the heartbreak of trying to provide for one's family under an authoritarian regime, while Veronika's chapters offer moments of impish levity and youthful hope. A significant moment in Ukrainian history brought to light in an accessible, moving, and personal way."
— Kirkus Review
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