About the author

A family’s struggle during turbulent times in Ukraine as witnessed by their second oldest son, Taras Kochno. Their incredible survival story took them through the artificial famine, known as "Holodomar", religious persecution, and living in the epicenter of World War II, where the German and Soviet forces squared off in an epic battle that resulted in a German defeat.

Under constant pressure to embrace the Bolshevik system, the Kochno family opposed Communist ideals, even at the risk of their own lives, and never wavered from their religious beliefs.

During Germany’s conquest of Kharkiv, the two Kochno brothers, Valentine and Taras, had to choose a path of certain death, of joining the Red Army or aligning with German forces, in the hopes of seeing their beloved Ukraine freed from their Communist oppressors.

After all their trials and tribulations, the Kochno family found sanctuary in the United States of America. 

This is a true story of how a family managed to survive during the darkest time of the 20th century, beating all the odds stacked against their survival and ending up in their beloved new homeland.