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20 x 14,5 cm
236 pages
Hardcover
Covermaterial from sandbags
Texts in Ukrainian and English
Texts: Anastasiia Kaminska, Oleksii Stislavsky, Vitalii Matukhno
Translation: Marta Leskiv, Vitalii Matukhno, Oleksii Stislavsky
Design: Paula Hornickel, Jule Wild
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First edition
Printed in Germany at Seltmann Printart
Print run: 700 copies
December, 2025
On the 24th of February 2022 the impossible happened. Terror all over Ukraine. Pure Chaos followed. „It´s hell here“, coming from a train going through Kharkiv. My friends from Kyiv stuck in place, roads so overcrowded that traffic could barely move. „We hear explosions.“ Impossible messages from friends leaving homes behind, not knowing if they would ever be able to return, some leaving behind parents, loved ones.
My friends went through hells that I would not wish upon anybody.
And then they did something that will forever impress me:
They kept going. They kept living.
They built new routines in all the uncertainties, reclaimed a sense of normality in midst of all the madness, found moments of happiness despite all the horrors and cherished these moments.
When tomorrow isn´t promised and yesterday is so long ago, it shifts your priorities. You can´t plan ahead. Everything is now.
I don´t know how to put it into words, the simultaneousness of everything. „How are you?“ has become an incredibly difficult question, that I learned to rephrase.
There is anger, frustration, helplessness, hope, guilt, fear, love, happiness, grief,..
How do you find a balance?
With russia strategically aiming to wear down Ukrainians mentally, simply keeping ones sanity often feels like a fight of its own.
The book is completed by personal texts and notes contributed by my dear Anastasiia Kaminska, Oleksii Stislavsky and Vitalii Matukhno. Thank you for trusting me with these vulnerable, sometimes brutally honest and open texts. It is an honor <3
