This story was also published by Dispatches Europe. We all live with one main thought now. We, as in, Ukrainian expats. The immigrants who found a new home in some other country, years before the war progressed into its current acute phase. How is your family? Did you get someone out? How did they manage to leave? Most of the people I know managed to…

(This post was also published by DispatchesEurope. It’s a part two to How the World Turned Black and White). Hopeless. How do you deal with a person who lost literally everything in one short week? The place to live, the salary or pension, the network of friends and neighbours, the structured…

This story was also published by DispatchesEurope.com. My friend posted on Facebook a couple of days ago. She posted a photo of herself with her mom, in black and white. And she wrote: On February 24, the world lost its colours. I read the post in my bedroom in Berlin…

You might not have watched Grey’s Anatomy — it’s a medical TV show — currently on Hulu — that’s already in its 18th season, which I think tells all about its popularity that you need to know. It’s created by Shonda Rhimes who is a veritable genius in creating very…

My body was never perfect. But it was sufficient. It wasn’t perfectly healthy but it didn’t get sick too often, at least after I grew out of the inevitable childhood colds and respiratory infections which, as I now read, build up the immunity that we enjoy as adults. It wasn’t…

The day before my son’s first birthday, me and my husband had a huge fight. Proven fact: even if you have lived in perfect peace before having kids, you will find many, many reasons to fight after… and this was one of those times. Long story short, my son was…

And no, I didn’t get it (yet). If I did, the title might have been different. You know what else no one tells you about having a baby? How lonely you’ll feel. Yet you’re never alone, one can think. You have a baby! A whole new person! Yes, a baby…

A month after giving birth, I was lying in my bed, consumed by an all-powerful emotion. Fear. “Please don’t leave me alone”, I said to my husband for the hundredth time. “Please. Take another month. Stay with me longer. I can’t do it on my own. I can’t. I won’t.” …