Among the many immigrants who arrived in the United States seeking a better life was Tatiana Lysenko. Now Ms. Lysenko has written a fictionalized autobiography, “The Price of Freedom.”
In the preface, Ms. Lysenko dedicates “The Price of Freedom” to immigrants who – like her – came to America to “gain greater freedom and to realize the human dreams.” She describes the book as “…a real-life story; however it is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, organization, or locales … are used fictitiously.”
The story is told through the eyes of “Slava,” a writer and professor of Ukrainian language, who finds an opportunity to leave Ukraine, where corruption and bribery are rampant, to live and work in the U.S. as an accredited Ukrainian journalist. Slava spends time with the Ukrainian Native Faith guru Lev Sylenko, about whom she writes a book, as well as articles for publication in Ukraine. These lead to various threats against her family and her editor in Kyiv. Slava successfully seeks political asylum, eventually bringing her daughter to the U.S. as well.
Interwoven with Slava’s accounts of her life both in Ukraine and the U.S. are her discourses about Ukrainian history, culture and customs, explaining how they shaped – and continue to influence – her thoughts and actions.
Ms. Lysenko earned a doctorate from the Kyiv Taras Shevchenko University. She is a former professor at George Washington University and has numerous publications about the ancient history and culture of the Slavic world to her credit; she has also written or co-authored several books in Ukrainian. She was listed in “Who is Who in Ukraine (Gold Book of Ukraine)” in 2010 and “Prominent Women of Ukraine (The Woman Face of Ukraine)” in 2012.
“The Price of Freedom” is currently available through online retailers – Amazon.com, $7.19 for e-book (Kindle) and $18.50 for the paperback edition; and Yevshan.com for $17 – as well as directly from the publisher at www.lulu.com for $20.99.