All That This House Has to Offer is a collection of stories showcasing the heritage of Russian Mennonite immigrants and the struggles they faced moving to a new land while trying to hold onto their traditions. Why was this an important book for you to write?

Some of these stories started out as simple anecdotes, like the one about Jacob and Katie and how they met, quite coincidentally, at the village fountain after the war. The same with the visits back to Austria. Stories that were just fun to recount. And then I found myself fleshing these stories out and as they evolved, it occurred to me that it might be special for my siblings and the next generation to read these and to have them as keepsakes.

There was a sense of urgency to complete the “Jacob and Katie” story, in particular, after the death of my mother in 2016 passed and then the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the situation was a replay of what my parents had told us over and over again as we were growing up. Fleeing their village, clambering onto trains to get out, people losing sight of one another, losing loved ones completely, and stories of finding one another again. The core of this story was always going to be Jacob and Katie running into each other after the war, but it needed some context.

The quote by Thomas King – “The truth about stories is that that’s all we are” – seemed particularly poignant. I wanted to tell our stories.

What were some ideas that were important for you to share in this book?

The importance of sharing stories, the sense of family and history, where we come from, the importance of remembering and honoring that. The struggle and tension between old and new; how to navigate this and still maintain a sense of family and community and respect for one another’s decisions. The importance of faith and tradition. In the end, family is all you’ve got.

What was one of the hardest parts in All That This House Has to Offer for you to write?

Good question! The hardest part was not writing the stories themselves, but releasing the stories out into the world. Having family members, immediate and not so immediate, reading my personal stories and struggles, revealing things about family that perhaps they would have preferred not to be revealed. And yet, that is what life is. It is not all rosy, all good or all bad. People are complicated and complex, and never more so than the people we love. Nothing is all one or the other.

What were some goals you set for yourself as a writer in this book?

One of my goals as a writer in this book was to portray intergenerational storytelling and the importance thereof. I decided to write some of the stories, specifically, “Jacob and Katie” as told to me by my mother and then in “Happy Birthday”, me telling the story to my own daughter. It seemed a good way to connect with readers as well, both young and old. Writing and seeing events unfold through the eyes of my younger self and then again as an adult was an interesting experience, to find myself right in that moment.

As the stories came together and when it came to choosing the order of the stories, I saw these not only as heritage stories, but really, the circle of life. And the women emerged strong and resilient in all generations! One generation flowing into the other, quite organically.

One thing I set out to do was to make the house a constant in the stories; the house and all that it offers and represents – home and hearth – family, safety, security, culture and tradition; a foundation. I wanted to give it voice.

Author Links: GoodReads | Website