A family story of Finding Home in Nanaimo has inspired a new children’s book.
Liubov Nazarenko says she and her family moved to Nanaimo from Ukraine three years ago because of the war. According to Nazarenko, one day, her daughter was missing home, and a story Nazarenko’s mom Valentyna Miliohlova told her granddaughter to help her feel better inspired the writing of The Tale of Strong Roots, written by Miliohova and produced by Nazarenko.
The story is about a young girl named Marika who misses her home.
“ She just moved to another country and she feels that everything is so different here,” said Nazarenko.
In the story, a grandmother shares a tale about a maple trees seeds, which can fly far away from their origins while still carrying on the family line.
Nazarenko says people in Nanaimo welcomed the family with open arms.
“We have so many Canadian friends now and some of them consider us a part of their families.”
Liubov Nazarenko produced A Tale of Strong Roots, written by her mother Valentyna Miliohova.
She also said that immigrating is hard.
“ Everything is new and you are stressed all the time. You’re stressed because even if you need something, you need to Google where to go, how to get there,” she said, adding that there’s also the difficulty of expressing oneself through a language barrier.
Nazarenko said that the story in The Tale of Strong Roots shows how it’s important to try and look on the bright side and try to think of how you can improve life for you and your family, even in a difficult situation.
“ when you’re living in grief, in sadness…you just cannot see what you have now.”
The family held a launch event at Nanaimo’s Harbourfront Library, and Nazarenko said that the event created a lot of connection.
She says a story shared at the event by a woman who had moved from Argentina really stuck with her.
“ She said that when she moved to Canada, she felt she broke, like she lost her roots,” Nazarenko said.
“She almost cried and she said ‘thank you so much. Because now I feel them inside and I know they’re here. They’re not gone. They moved me with me and they’re inside me.'”