Description

“Birds Without Nests. Memoirs” is a poignant autobiographical record of the life of Larysa Henijuš, one of the most significant figures of the 20th-century Belarusian independence movement. A poet, a prisoner of Soviet labor camps, a woman of iron will and boundless love for her Homeland.

These memoirs are not only a personal story of survival but also a testimony of an entire generation of repressed Belarusians. Henijuš describes her childhood, national activism, dramatic arrest, brutal years in the Gulag, and life after returning from exile — a life under constant surveillance, yet lived with unwavering dignity.

This is a book that captivates with its style, emotional depth, and authenticity. Today, thanks to this new edition, we have the chance to listen once again to a voice that endured despite all attempts to silence it.

For readers interested in the history of Belarus, the fates of women in totalitarian systems, and prison literature.

“More than forty years have passed since her soul departed into the Belarusian eternity, but even now it happens — in the evening or morning, on the ‘swing’ between wakefulness and sleep — that a sudden, comforting and joyful thought occurs: soon I will go to see ‘Grandmother.’ That is what we called her in letters and phone calls — with love, but also with caution, mindful of the ‘comrade majors,’ our state-appointed curators. We often called her Grandmother during friendly conversations that could be overheard by strangers. I believe, however, that the KGB officers knew very well: ‘Grandmother’ was Larysa Henijuš” (Uł. Arłoŭ).