A woman who spent her childhood in Kelowna has written a book about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – but this one took place 100 years ago.

Cynthia LeBrun was born in Kelowna and lived here for the first 13 years of her life. Her family moved to California and she lived there for seven years, before she returned to B.C. at age 20.

She became a teacher and taught school while living in the Comox Valley for 30 years, but recently moved to Prince George a month ago.

LeBrun is the proud author of “Black Sunflowers”, which was just published in July and is doing exceptionally well since its release.

Photo Credit: Amazon

It’s her first published work and is the culmination of 20 years of hard work to get published, she said. It’s also more than 500 pages long, another sign of how much work she put into it.

The historical fiction is told through the eyes of her real-life mother-in-law Veronika and her struggle, along with her family, to survive Soviet-occupied Ukraine from the early 1920s to the early 1940s, Lebrun explained in a phone interview from Prince George earlier this week.

“Black Sunflowers illuminates one of the darkest times in Ukrainian history,” she said. “It tells how the people suffered in the Holodomor (English translation is death by hunger) under Stalin. Not only is the book based on the memories of my mother-in-law, whom I interviewed extensively, but is heavily researched and fact-based.”

According to Lebrun, the book is a story of survival for a tight-knit family that endures so much under Stalin’s autocratic rule. Told in Veronika’s and her father Janek’s alternating perspectives, the book is grounded in historical research.

Janek’s perspective gives voice to the violent brutality of Soviet rule and the heartbreak of trying to provide for one’s family under an authoritarian regime, while Veronika’s chapters offer moments of levity and youthful hope, Lebrun said.

A significant moment in Ukrainian history is brought to light in an accessible, moving, and personal way, she added.

“Black Sunflowers is a riveting novel of one close-knit family’s survival, resilience and perseverance under two invading, totalitarian regimes,” Lebrun explained. “Historically accurate, it takes place during the Soviet occupation of Ukraine from the early 1920s into Nazi Germany’s invasion in 1941.

“It vividly describes the experiences of a young girl and her father, exposed to the injustices of two dictatorships determined to subjugate the population.”

Veronika’s father Janek guides her, teaching her life skills to survive such difficult times with humanity, Lebrun said.

“Veronika and Janek’s story is a haunting, yet uplifting testimony to the strengths and humanity of the people of Ukraine,” she noted.

A big reason the book took two decades to complete was ensuring that all the information her mother-in-law gave her was historically accurate.

Lebrun said she spent endless hours in libraries and online doing research.

“I contacted numerous historians to make sure what I had written was true and accurate,” she claimed.

Her book has been endorsed by Valentina Kuryliw, Director of Education of the Holodomor Research and Education Consortium at the University of Alberta and one of the world’s leading experts, said LeBrun.

“I was very honoured to get her endorsement,” she said. “It took a lot of time and hard work to finish the research before I could finish the book.”

Photo Credit: Keith Lacey/Penticton Herald

The book has not only sold well since being published, but it captured a Petersen Emerging Writer Award, which she is very proud of, said LeBrun.

According to Lebrun, it's an award recognizes books that promote a better understanding of Ukraine and its people.

She explained that Black Sunflowers was given a rave review from Kirkus, a trusted source for writers and publishers around the world.

“Kirkus is the gold standard of book reviews,” she noted. “It is prestigious and rare to have a book reviewed by Kirkus and a positive review is even rarer. Most Canadian books do not get reviewed on Kirkus.”

When asked about the title of the book, LeBrun said we will have to read it to discover the symbolism of black sunflowers in Ukrainian culture.

“That’s a mystery that will only be solved when people read the book,” she said.

To become a published author is one of the proudest accomplishments of Lebrun's life.

“I am very thrilled,” she said. “The fact it’s selling to very well and been so warmly received is such an honour. It’s really rising on the book charts.”
The first run of 2,000 copies are almost sold out and a second run of 5,000 is scheduled to be released very soon, according to Lebrun.

While the book is very dark as it tells such a sad story, it ultimately becomes uplifting and joyous as it shows the power of love and family, she said.

“It’s endearing and uplifting, but at the same time, you get a glimpse of what the people had to endure living in that village at that time,” she said.

LeBrun said she’s just completed a sequel to Black Sunflowers and she hopes to have it published before the end of the year, as it is "finished and going through the editing process."

The untitled novel continues the story of Veronika and Janek and their family after they endure Stalin’s regime, only to be under Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime.

“Veronika is taken to Germany and has to endure forced labour,” she said. 

“First they took the Jews out of her village and then they came back for all the Ukrainian and Polish children. The book focuses on what happened to her.”

To promote her book, LeBrun is making a special trip back to Kelowna on Friday, Sept. 20. She will be speaking about her book and signing copies at Kelowna United Church, located at 721 Bernard Ave., from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

“I’m actually going to give a presentation about the history of Ukraine as far as being Soviet occupied and then going into the parallels of what’s taking place today,” she said. “I’ll then read a chapter of the book. Then there will be a question and answer period.

“People will also have the opportunity to buy the book and have it signed.”