Back to Motherland with Tetyana Denford E12

Our special guest is Tetyana Denford, a Ukrainian-American author, translator, and freelance writer this week. She grew up with her Ukrainian heritage at the forefront of her childhood. It led to her being fascinated with how storytellers in various cultures passed down their lives to future generations.

Her debut novel, Motherland, was published in March 2020 to critical success and longlisted for The Readers Digest Self Published Book Awards. It was based on an incredible family secret revealed by her maternal grandmother, Julia, only recently, and has been described by people as ‘haunting’, ‘powerful and devastating’, and ‘a fragile and hopeful story of an immigrant family’.

Her current series of ‘conversation books’, collections of poetry and prose about Grief, Motherhood, and Love, were published in 2021.

Tetyana also hosts a show called ‘The Craft and Business of Books’ that helps writers understand both the creative and business sides of the book world. – If you’d like to check that out, it’s available on Youtube.

Sareta and Chioma speak to Tetyana Denford, author of the beautifully haunting novel ‘Motherland’, about the Russian government’s invasion into Ukraine.

Tetyana a Ukrainian-American who currently lives with her family in New York. She speaks from the heart about the importance of her heritage and cultural identity, plus why she has barely slept since Putin sent his forces into Ukraine.

The ladies discuss stories that have been told on both sides and why we need to think critically before accepting any narrative.

During the show, Tetyana shared some ways you can support the people of Ukraine; if you’d like to donate, take a look at the following sites:
Ukrainian Crisis Relief via globalgiving.org
Save The Children Ukraine
The Sunflower of Peace

Joseph Stashko-Adamaszek, the founder of Panko Candles, has also collated a list of independently verified charities aiding Ukrainians via his Instagram account.

Tokunbo Koiki and Patricia Daley are fundraising to help African and Caribbean students leave the country for safe territory; donate if you can. 

To follow Tetyana’s writing journey, you can find her on tetyanadenford.com and instagram.com/tetyanawrites.

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