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10 WWW.UNWLA.ORG “НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ЛЮТИЙ 2019 S ERENDIPITY As English editor of Our Life , I receive all kinds of articles on all kinds of topics, some integrally related to the business of the UNWLA, some with a broader scope that describes events or is sues of interest or of concern to the Ukrainian hro mada at large, and some human interest stories that cut a cross the boundaries of the two preceding categories (or not) . Some featur e Ukrainian customs and culture and literature (con- temporary or focusing o n things from decades long gone), history, and a host of other material that falls into distinct categories or sub - categories beyond those mentioned here. The materials featured in th is Feb- ruary issue of Our Life illustrate this thematic array and undersco re an almost eerie phenomenon that periodically occurs in this business : sometimes things work in mysterious ways to connect things that ini- tially and individually don’t seem related at all. The first hint of all this was an article sent to us from UNWLA Branch 96 in Michigan, a story about the presentation of a book named Dibrova Diary . Written by Myrosia Stefaniuk, the book focuses on the Ukrainian estate Dibrova, one of several buc olic sites that Ukrainians purchased and developed as our immigrant commu nity evolved. A related set of stories on this theme had already been featured in the June issue of Our Life , both of which focused on the estate (oselia) Ukrainians had established i n the Poconos (just outside Lehighton , Pa. ) and named in honor of Oleh Ol zhych (one written by yours truly and the other written by Irena Gramiak, a member of our editorial board). The second hint came in the form of a telephone call from Vera Lashchyk, w ho is part of the Ukrain- ian hromada of Philadelphia and its burbs. Ms. La shchyk called about a book written by her erstwhile daughter - in - law Tamara Lashchyk and asked whether I would read it and write a review about it for Our Life . The book is called Lose the Gum and serves as a primer for young women interested in pursuing an d succeeding in careers in a field once considered a “men only” domain. The third hint came in the mail, in a package forwarded to me from the UNWLA office in New York City. In the pa ckage was a book called An Ocean Between , written by Stephanie Sydoriak, someone I met via email when working on the No- vember 2018 issue of Our Life . Ms. Sydoriak had sent us a speech she had delivered during Ukrainian Independence Day celebrations in New Mexico, where she resides. The speech was published in the No- vember issue , as part of an immigration story theme, along with brief note about the author and her book. So here we are with a marvelous unifying theme for the February issue of Our Life : Three very different and very interesting books written by Ukrainian American women! Ms. Stefaniuk’s article about the presentation of Dibrova Diary begins on page 26 , a review of Lose the Gum begins on page 11 , and a review of An Ocean Between begins on page 1 3 . – tsc A Serendipitous Sequel and A Few Choice Words on Writing an d Reading and Books Just as I had finished this explanation about books to be featured in this issue of Our Life and working on pulling together an organizational plan for other materials designated for this issue, I had a phone call from Martha Bohachevs ky - Chomiak, an old friend and colleague and mentor who served as a member of OL editorial board for many years. T he author of several books, MBC is also a cool human being with whom it has been my honor and privilege to work on several projects, the most r ecent of which was sent to me in its early stages for a looksee and preliminary proofreading and editing suggesti ons. This project, a book about the life and times of Metropolitan Archbishop Constantine Bohachevsky has recently come to frui- tion and has bee n published by The Catholic University of America Press under the title Ukrainian Bishop, American Ch urch: Consta ntine Bohachevsky and the Ukrainian Catholic Church. All writing comes by the grace of God. – Ralph Waldo Emerson If there’s a book you real ly want to read but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it. – Tony Morrison
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