Called “one of the best and most intimate histories of Ukraine” by the country’s Financial Times correspondent, Ukraine Is Not Dead Yet weaves together history, reportage, and memoir to illuminate the fates of an ordinary Ukrainian family against the extraordinary circumstances—war, totalitarianism, fledgling independence, and, once again, war—that have defined the country’s recent history.
In telling her family’s story, Buskey demonstrates how controversial and painful aspects of Ukrainian history, such as Nazi collaboration, the rise and persistence of Ukrainian nationalism, and the country’s enduring struggle with its powerful neighbor, Russia, are key to understanding the country today—as well as the roots of the Russian invasion that one year on continues to transfix the world. An investigation of the politics of memory, Ukraine Is Not Dead Yet is a testament to how a family’s story and a nation’s story can be inseparable.
Megan Buskey is a nonfiction writer who has contributed to The New York Times Book Review, The Atlantic, The New Republic, NPR’s All Things Considered, and other outlets. A former Fulbright Fellow to Ukraine, she has been studying and writing about the country for two decades. She lives in New York City. Megan is a Cleveland native, and part of her book is set in Tremont, where her great-grandfather lived shortly after he immigrated.