Per aspera ad astra. I’ve always liked this Latin phrase, meaning “through hardship to the stars”. Ever since I decided to start a new career as a writer, the famous Latin saying has taken on a new meaning. I think that writing is a marvelous thing. But sadly, the action of writing is not always a path strewn with rose petals. The process of writing can be a complete and utter fiasco, when the moment strikes that every writer is afraid of – a writer’s block. When mine suddenl

With bated breath we wait for miracles to happen, thinking that miracle is only something significant and radically life changing. What about small miracles that happen every day through things that we love, through people that we admire, through friends that we unexpectedly acquired? Everyday small miracles DO happen, we just need to stop for a second and acknowledge them. Back then, in 2017, after a few months of sleepless nights, an ocean of tears and tons of memory tortur

Back then, the decision to write a book seemed incredible and even surreal. Little did I know that it would have a significant impact on my entire life. So, believe it or not, I started writing my very first book! Excited to the core I outlined my future narration and began drafting it in Russian – my native language. I planned to translate it into English and make both versions available for readers. I thought I needed to find a local writer who would be able to help me to g

He told me I should write a book! I would like to thank Richard (remember him from the story I mentioned in my previous blog post?) for planting a seed in the soil of my brain. Writing a book was a great idea in every way, solely because it would make one of my old dreams come true. I have been nurturing the idea of telling my mom about being in captivity, for years. If I could write about it – she could read it. Even if this story wouldn’t be seen or heard by anyone else, an

Speaking about meaningful encounters… Do you remember the conversation we started in the previous blog post? Yes, I think it’s pretty amazing how a chain of brief meetings that I did not take seriously at the moment led to a major change in life. Many years ago, I used to be a photographer – well… a very amateur photographer – I had just started then, actually. Luckily, the stars aligned in my favor and I was invited to shoot a cage fight event, due to the unexpected illness

Once I decided to share the most horrible part of my life, I could not stop thinking about it. Every day, confidence about my story exposure grew and straightened out, like a young oak developing into a powerful giant within fertile soil. I just needed to define my task and make a plan. I was positive that a talk show – like Ellen DeGeneres – would be the most amazing way to tell my story. The only disadvantage about that idea was that the Ellen DeGeneres show seemed like a s