Sunflowers Under Fire by Diana Stevan

 

“As a flower strains toward the light, so a man strains with thoughts, words and deeds toward the motherland. For the sunflower, the sun is the only guide; for the man, the motherland is the one and only treasure.”

                                    Ukrainian Folk Saying

  After interviewing Diana Stevan at My Writing Life blog, I learned that Diana had written several novels. I was eager to read Sunflowers Under Fire, a novel based on the life experiences of her maternal grandmother, Lukia Mazurec, in Ukraine. Her story of survival under ominous circumstances will continue to shake peoples' hearts across the world.

  Diana’s mother, Eudokia, was a natural-born storyteller. This talent appears to manifest itself in Sunflowers Under Fire through Diana’s voice.

  I requested the book from the library and I am happy to say that her novel has been the recipient of various awards and recognitions. For example, Sunflowers under Fire has been a Finalist for the 2019 Whistler Independent Book Awards and a Semifinalist for the 2019 Kindle Book Awards. It earned an Honorable Mention in the 2020 Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Award.

   In Ukraine Lukia and her family had to tackle the hardships and face the tragedies of  World War I. They also had to deal with the aftermath of it. 

   Lukia's husband, Gregory, enlisted to fight for the Tsar while Lukia stayed with their six children. Lukia did not agree with her husband’s decision. Soon after he left, Lukia and her children became refugees. The farm they owned, where they had worked hard for four years, would be invaded, so Lukia and her children were forced to leave and Russian soldiers torched their home.

 The book is a testimony of the devastating consequences of war and the abuse of power by autocracies.  

 Despite her lack of formal education, Lukia had a deep understanding of the political situation of Ukraine. Her reflections and insights express her foresight and visionary power. Her observations resonate today: “Ukraine always seemed to be under some other country’s thumb. Their land with its good earth was the envy of the countries bordering it. It had been like that when she was growing up, it was like that now, and the way it was going, it would be like that for generations to come. Over the centuries it had been invaded by many.”

 

 The story starts on August 5, 1915, on the day Lukia gave birth to Eudokia. Lukia was by herself and she managed to do so without complications. The uneventful birth of Eudokia was not taken for granted. She had lost two babies and had now a total of six children to raise. Eudokia was the youngest one. Diseases and deaths ravaged Lukia’s life, but her resilience and resourcefulness guided her through the turmoil and devastating situations.

  The novel culminates with the final decision of the family to migrate to Canada in the late 1920s.

 This engrossing novel based on true experiences and historical facts offers details of the social and political setting. It is an incredible journey to the past, to a time when antibiotics did not exist. It was common for people to die from sepsis.  

 I am still mulling over several topics related to this novel. For example, I was shaken by the gender double standards and the gender discrimination that pervaded society during those harsh years. It did not come as a surprise because I was well aware of these issues, but it is still disturbing and upsetting to read about it. Even today, we witness how the remnants of these prejudices continue to shape political outcomes, ignite suffering, perpetuate injustice and devastate economies.

    The journey of Ukraine’s independence continues to be sabotaged by the actions of political bullies who consider that violating other countries’ sovereignty is acceptable. It is important to study history to understand the roots of these actions.

  I am thankful that Diana took the time to write this spellbinding story. I hope it will help people understand the complexity of history and the need to respect and support Ukraine’s independence and autonomy.

  The cruel, inexcusable invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, under the command of Vladimir Putin has been a horrifying event. However, the people of Ukraine never gave up on their freedom. They have an honest leader who stands up for his people.

   The attack of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin’s forces continues to kill people of all ages. Also, 19,456 Ukrainian children have been abducted by Russian forces, and now the Trump administration has cut the funding needed to track these children.

 These children have been forcibly separated from their families. Some of them were sent to re-education camps. Others were sent to foster-care, orphanages or adopted into Russian families.

  Ukrainian people continue to lose their homes and livelihoods, and their families are torn apart. Putin’s lack of accountability is disturbing. In the United States of America at least seventy-five million people voted for Putin’s asset in November 2024. They voted for the guy who called Putin a “genius” for invading Ukraine. Now Putin’s “asset” blames Zelensky for the war on Ukraine and threatens to annex Canada, take over Greenland and the Panama Canal. What kind of person in his or her right mind can support a “man” who has no respect for other countries’ sovereignty?

 Is this the kind of country that voters want in America?

 The trend to normalize this situation is unsettling. This is why I recommend independent journalism that shares facts, honest analysis and is not afraid to oppose fascist ideology. At the bottom of this post, I am sharing some links to the work of independent journalists that do not succumb to the manipulation of fascist ideology. Furthermore, I appreciate the reporting by Daniel Dale who cares to debunk the claims spread by the current fascist regime in the United States of America.

  People will not learn history from playing video games, which is why books like Sunflowers Under Fire should be promoted, shared and discussed.

   Sunflowers Under Fire will motivate readers to delve into the intricacies of history and to understand the impact that the political context has on the lives of common people.

 I enjoyed Diana Stevan’s style of writing and the ways she presents the characters. The scenes are realistic and vivid. Every chapter was engaging and hard to put down. 

 When I reached the end of the novel, I felt curious to learn about the next stage of their lives. I experienced a sense of loss. It was sad to finish it, but I was happy to know that they were traveling to a place of safety where they would live in peace and thrive…

 

 If you enjoyed this post, feel free to check my writing on the following books:

 

Love in Defiance of Pain: Ukrainian stories

Patriot: a memoir by Alexei Navalny

 Walking Away from Hate by Jeanette and Lauren Manning

 

Independent journalists to follow:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHM8wLOEWX4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjSvSV3zIKA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUDLOAe_71U

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaKW9LlTHIs

For climate change news you can follow this website:

https://insideclimatenews.org/category/politics-policy/

 

 

Humor is necessary to support your mental health. You can get informed with a dose of humor:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNsKFEg5kWo

 

Interview With Author Diana Stevan

 

Julia: What is Along Came a Gardener about? What makes it unique?

Diana: My non-fiction book, based on my 25 years as a family therapist, is unique because the thoughts and experiences I share are woven in with the lessons I found in gardening and nature.  I also reveal my own stumbles, and I do it to demonstrate how important it is to be kind to ourselves and not feel bad when we can’t figure things out or our lives are not going as well as we had hoped. I hope the stories in my book will inspire others to make some positive changes in their life.

 

Julia: You have written several novels and poetry. What inspired you to write this non-fiction book?

Diana: I was inspired to write this book back in the late 1970s. I was working as a school psychologist then and a high school guidance counsellor had referred a couple of sisters to me for counselling. They were brilliant students but were failing. The oldest had attempted suicide. I tried family counselling, but the mother was mentally ill, so it wasn’t possible to continue. So I saw the sisters together and not long after I started seeing them in therapy, the oldest wrote me a poem, titled “The Seed of Hope” and in it, I was the gardener who had come along and planted it.

Her poem gave me an idea for a book based on my work as a psychotherapist. I started writing it shortly after I had finished my sessions with the sisters, but as a wife and mother of two, there wasn’t much time for writing. I’m glad I waited, as I wasn’t ready to write this book.

Julia: What were the challenges you encountered when writing your book? How did you deal with them?

Diana: Well, I kept wondering if I could do justice to what I had experienced. I was so grateful for the trust that many had put in me over the years, and I wanted to honour that trust. As you know, counselling is a confidential service, so I was mindful to be respectful and maintain those confidences. So, names were not divulged nor anything else that might identify those I’d seen in therapy. I also had the help of three professional therapists who read my book beforehand, and I was relieved to get their approval.

 

Julia: What are the greatest setbacks and ordeals you've dealt with as a therapist? How did you navigate those challenges?

Diana: The greatest ordeals I experienced as a therapist were conflicts with other professionals in the workplace. My first job after getting my Master of Social Work in 1972 was in a psychiatric ward at Winnipeg General Hospital (Health Sciences Center today). I was stunned to discover electric shock therapy was being routinely prescribed for patients with depression. I didn’t think patients had been given enough time to tell their story, the one that had resulted in them ending up on a psychiatric ward. Since I wasn’t a psychiatrist, the decision to give a patient shock treatment was a hard decision to challenge. Hospital beds were at a premium and the psychiatric staff were pressured to discharge patients as quickly as possible. Still, I made my observations known. At the time, I didn’t realize how naïve I was, and how I had overstepped those professional boundaries. So, it’s not surprising I didn’t make a lot of friends amongst the staff who were used to treating patients this way.

Another challenge I had took place in a different workplace. I was sexually harassed by the director of the agency.  After an incident where he had made sexual remarks to me in front of a team of counsellors, I went to his office and confronted him. I told him how uncomfortable it had made me feel, how inappropriate his comments had been and told him to never do it again. He didn’t.

And there was one patient who had been discharged from hospital who called me up in the middle of the night threatening to commit suicide. I was trained to take these threats seriously, so I got dressed and went out to meet him at a cafe. I gave him the support he needed over a cup of coffee. It sounds simple, but it wasn’t. Thankfully, I had established a rapport with him while he was in hospital, and he trusted me.

 

Julia: Would you like to share a personal experience that helped you to change and grow as a human being?

Diana: Training to be a family therapist was an eye-opening experience. I read everything available on family communication. It’s one thing to read it; it’s another to put it into practice. In order to be a good therapist, you have to work on yourself as well. Over the years, the knowledge I gained through my training and work with others dealing with family conflict helped me grow as a human being. I write about this experience, including my missteps, and more in my book.

Julia: Is there anything else you would like to mention about the book?

Diana: Because I also have a Bachelor of Science in Home Economics degree, I included a chapter on diet and nutrition. I’ve always tried to practice holistically. In fact, I attended the first Holistic Conference in Vancouver back in 1979. We have so much to deal with to maintain our mental and physical health, so I felt I had to mention the obvious in my book: the importance of diet, nutrition, exercise, and sleep.

Since I also gave stress management and anger management workshops during my career as a psychotherapist, I share helpful ideas from those times in Along Came A Gardener.

I’m hoping readers will find Along Came A Gardener inspirational and feel less alone in the complicated world we live in.

Thank you again, Julia. It’s been a pleasure sharing what’s inside my new publication with you.

Julia: Thank you so much for sharing your experience and words of wisdom at My Writing Life blog: Awareness, Reflection, Inspiration, and I wish you all the best with the new book release.

  A former family therapist, Diana Stevan has published poetry and five novels: A Cry from the Deep, The Rubber Fence, Sunflowers Under Fire, Lilacs in the Dust Bowl, and Paper Roses on Stoney Mountain.

  Along Came a Gardener, non-fiction, is her latest book. She resides with her husband on Vancouver Island.