Strong Roots: A Ukrainian Family Story, Interrupted
Olia Hercules
Jun 2025 · Bloomsbury GB Audio · Narrated by Olia Hercules
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7 hr 45 min
Unabridged
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Eligible
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About this audiobook
Bloomsbury presents Strong Roots, written and read by Olia Hercules, featuring original music performed by Cats & Bats and Olia Hercules.
'An instant classic' NIGELLA LAWSON
'Sweeping, intimate, defiant and brimming with love' LOUISE KENNEDY
'It is the roots that keep the trees from falling during a storm. Olia Hercules tells us that the same is true for people and nations' SERHII PLOKHY
I am writing this story without knowing its end: it begins long before I was born and will continue long after I die. I am writing this story to help myself heal and to make you understand.
Strong Roots is the story of a century in Ukraine told through four generations of one extraordinary family. It takes us from years of Russification, to Olia’s grandmother’s deportation to snowy wastelands under Stalin, to her Aunt Zhenia's school protest, to her own parents’ flight from Ukraine when their town was occupied in 2022.
This is an ode to the land, to ideas of home and belonging, and to family stories and recipes passed down the generations – the tang of sour cherries, the best way to make borsch. It is an account of resilience in the hardest of circumstances.
Strong Roots brims with hope and grief. It lays bare the compromises and betrayals of generations struggling and surviving through war, peace, invasion and exile. It is an uplifting reminder of how much the human spirit can endure when born from a land rich with strong roots.
'An instant classic' NIGELLA LAWSON
'Sweeping, intimate, defiant and brimming with love' LOUISE KENNEDY
'It is the roots that keep the trees from falling during a storm. Olia Hercules tells us that the same is true for people and nations' SERHII PLOKHY
I am writing this story without knowing its end: it begins long before I was born and will continue long after I die. I am writing this story to help myself heal and to make you understand.
Strong Roots is the story of a century in Ukraine told through four generations of one extraordinary family. It takes us from years of Russification, to Olia’s grandmother’s deportation to snowy wastelands under Stalin, to her Aunt Zhenia's school protest, to her own parents’ flight from Ukraine when their town was occupied in 2022.
This is an ode to the land, to ideas of home and belonging, and to family stories and recipes passed down the generations – the tang of sour cherries, the best way to make borsch. It is an account of resilience in the hardest of circumstances.
Strong Roots brims with hope and grief. It lays bare the compromises and betrayals of generations struggling and surviving through war, peace, invasion and exile. It is an uplifting reminder of how much the human spirit can endure when born from a land rich with strong roots.
Bloomsbury presents Strong Roots, written and read by Olia Hercules, featuring original music performed by Cats & Bats and Olia Hercules.
'An instant classic' NIGELLA LAWSON
'Sweeping, intimate, defiant and brimming with love' LOUISE KENNEDY
'It is the roots that keep the trees from falling du...
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About the author
Olia Hercules was born in the South of Ukraine. She studied Italian language and International Relations at the University of Warwick. After spending a year in Italy, Olia settled in London, pursuing a career in journalism. She would later quit her job as a film business reporter to pursue her dream to cook for a living. Dedicated to researching food culture and culinary traditions of countries less explored, Hercules is the author of the award-winning cookbooks Mamushka, Kaukasis and Summer Kitchens.
Twitter: @Olia_Hercules | Instagram: @oliahercules
Twitter: @Olia_Hercules | Instagram: @oliahercules
Olia Hercules was born in the South of Ukraine. She studied Italian language and International Relations at the University of Warwick. After spending a year in Italy, Olia settled in London, pursuing a career in journalism. She would later quit her job as a film business reporter to pursue her dr...
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