The afternoon felt like a real look behind the scenes. Urve shared how the cover of The Darkest Corner of the World evolved to a portrait of her young mother and gave us a glimpse into what’s coming next in her sequel. Kaili, who wrote Eha’s Great Escape: Estonia 1944, talked about the creative choices in her imagery, drawing on her grandmother’s likeness to capture the feeling of her 17-year-old journey. She reflected on the questions she never asked her ‘vanaema Eha,' and how shocked her grandmother would be to know she had become the subject of a picture book – seeing the gentle mother she knew now portrayed in Estonian schools as the brave teenager who escaped the Soviet invasion.
It was especially moving to have Juta in the audience, an Eesti Kodu resident. At 95, she reminded us that this history is very much alive – she was 11 when she escaped with her family, eventually arriving in Canada on the Walnut. Her presence was a powerful reminder that these narratives are not just books, ‘ancient’ history, but vital links to our shared past and the events unfolding in real time now.
Part of the discussion also centered on the complexities of our fractured community post 1991 – the divide between those in the diaspora who escaped and worked with grit to build new lives, and those who stayed behind, enduring hardship and isolation. These insights opened the door to a more vulnerable Q&A.
The conversation shifted from the mechanics of writing to the raw reality of the split between those who left and those who stayed. Kaili recalled a moment from her time volunteering at an Estonian orphanage, where a young boy looked at her and said, ‘Your family left, and mine stayed here to fight.' That haunting duality remains part of our identity, resonating deeply as we watch history echo in Ukraine. These narratives aren’t just books; they are survival tools that keep the Estonian experience alive.
These events are a reminder of our community’s strength and the importance of those who work tirelessly to memorialize our history, both in Estonia and abroad. We are deeply grateful for their dedication in ensuring our stories endure. This work is also a challenge to us all: Go home. Open your family albums. Ask the hard questions now, while you still can. Let’s not let silence define our history.
Both The Darkest Corner of the World and Eha’s Great Escape are available on Amazon’s global marketplaces.
