{"product_id":"black-sunflowers-9781554556434","title":"Black Sunflowers","description":"\u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eI will die, I will die. And nobody will know my grave. And nobody will come and remember, Only the nightingale will sing.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Inspired by a real-life story, \u003ci\u003eBlack Sunflowers\u003c\/i\u003e 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 -- \u003ci\u003eBlack Sunflowers\u003c\/i\u003e 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. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e 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. \u003ci\u003eBlack Sunflowers\u003c\/i\u003e 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. \u003ci\u003eBlack Sunflowers\u003c\/i\u003e is her first novel. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Fitzhenry \u0026 Whiteside","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50889688973586,"sku":"9781554556434","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_86ee3d17-281d-4ae4-a458-bb0c8c9b4fd2.jpg?v=1738163881","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/black-sunflowers-9781554556434","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}