Our Canceled Czech

By Yolana Saulnier

Book Overview

Vladimir was counting . . . counting in his head. All hopes and dreams would depend on his accuracy. Life's ambitions-life itself-would be won or lost on this one skill.

How had a little farm kid ended up "adulting" in the enemy's uniform? Reciting lies, repeating drills meant to put an end to the very freedom he loved? How thirsty for freedom do you have to be to resort to the earliest of skills taught with geese, eggs, and potatoes? The plan, the map, the snow, the moon, the dogs, the hill, the little creek, and the counting, were all figured out in his head. Because his heart wanted something more, and now the very souls he had been training with plotted to kill him.

Born in a unique time, in the depths of the depression, Vladimir read the headlines that Hitler had taken over his country's capitol, Prague. He saw the last battles of that war and enjoyed a few years of goodness even though sorrow and hardship at home settled in the back of his mind. Then the shifting of men's ambitions, philosophies, avarice, and power mongering twisted oppressively and here he was, OUR CANCELED CZECH, counting for his life.

And what if you do get away? Is freedom fragile? Can you hold onto it?

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1951568370
• ISBN13: 9781951568375
• Release Date: June 2023
• Publisher: Small Batch Books
• Length: 152 Pages
• Weight: 0.51 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Eye opening read regarding life in interwar, WWII, and post-bellum communist ruled Czechoslovakia

An easy read which illustrates the complex forces at play in the life of the protagonist in communist-ruled Czechoslovakia and how he came out of that to serve in the US Army, come to Christian faith, and come into a family. It’s a personal work, given the biographer is the daughter of the protagonist. But the author is not merely retelling her father’s account verbatim, but further researched and compared his narrative to authoritative or comparative sources to relay the most factual account. Open it for a peek into the different world of Central European life in the interwar years, but stay for a gritty rendition of one man’s moment by moment choices in pursuit of freedom and salvation.