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Swimming in the Daylight: An American Student, a Soviet-Jewish Dissident, and the Gift of Hope
by
Lisa C. Paul (Goodreads Author)
There is always some part of the world where human rights are trampled and oppression quashes the human spirit. In the 1980s, it was the Soviet Union. In Swimming in the Daylight, Lisa Paul, a Catholic-American student living in Moscow in the early ’80s, details how she grew to understand the perverse reality of the pre-Gorbachev Soviet regime as her friendship with her Ru...more
Hardcover, 304 pages
Published
February 8th 2011
by Skyhorse Publishing
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Swimming in the Daylight is part personal memoir, part historical documentary and totally a testament to love and the the triumph of the human heart over circumstance and adversity. Lisa Paul had no idea when she arrived in Moscow in the waning years of the Soviet Union to work as nanny to an American Diplomatic family, the the next two years would change the course of her life and leave an indelible imprint on her soul.
The book is a wonderful historical flashback to one American girl's two yea...more
The book is a wonderful historical flashback to one American girl's two yea...more
My reaction to this book might be unfairly biased because I met and interviewed the author, wrote an article about the book, and attended a signing before reading the book. Having been so impressed in advance, I expected to be even more impressed when I started reading, and I'm afraid I wasn't. I was distracted by other reading assignments and I put this book aside for a while and finished something else I had started first before I finally finished this one. I had to go back and reread sections...more
Characters: Lisa Paul & Inna, the refusnik
I liked the story.
I am sorry to say that it sometimes was tedious for me to get through it. Maybe it shld have been shorter and sweeter (or shld it have been edited better,) I do not know.
My favorite chapter was when Lisa's mother came to visit her in Moscow. It energized Lisa w/ alot of (good) emotions. I did cry during that visit and felt the energy from Lisa.
I liked the story.
I am sorry to say that it sometimes was tedious for me to get through it. Maybe it shld have been shorter and sweeter (or shld it have been edited better,) I do not know.
My favorite chapter was when Lisa's mother came to visit her in Moscow. It energized Lisa w/ alot of (good) emotions. I did cry during that visit and felt the energy from Lisa.
It was a little hard to get into this book but the story is a good one and worth sticking with. The friendship of the two women in the story is amazing, the obstacles that they deal with are beyond normal understanding. It is a powerful story of friendship and the strength of two amazing women. It truly gives you an awareness of the greater world and how much we have here in the US.
Lisa Paul did a wonderful thing. She befriends a woman dying of cancer in Russia, and upon her return to America endures a controlled hunger strike to enable her cause to be acknowledged and enables the woman (Enna) to be given permission to leave Russia for treatment. We get to know Enna and her struggles. But ( in my view) Lisa is reporting what happened, not exploring the lives of those she met, not enabling us to feel a connection with the people she met. She spoke about marrying Volodra to...more
So...I have never read anything about the refusniks before. Even though my mothers family is from the Ukraine our Jewish history is NEVER spoke of. I feel terrible for the history and the people it effected. My eyes are open more wide now!
Compelling read if you are at all interesting in the Soviet Union, human rights, or U.S.-USSR relations during the 1980s. Not a difficult text, so it goes quickly. Some parts seem like the author is trying really hard to make the reader feel her emotions - the story itself is enough without the extra effort, but still very interesting.
May 02, 2011
Kim Lunsford
added it
I have a famous friend!!! Kjirsten's picture as well as a personal shout-out in the aknowledgements. Love it!
I learned a lot from my fellow Wisconsinite about the history of Russian Jews.
I really enjoyed this book and was fascinated to learn about Inna and the Refusniks. What made it even more enjoyable was getting to meet Lisa Paul and talk to her about her book and her life. What a great experience!
What a terrific book about hope! A must-read.
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| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Author Interview | 1 | 6 | Feb 15, 2011 08:39am | |
| Appleton, WI - book signing | 1 | 4 | Feb 15, 2011 08:14am |
Lisa C. Paul was born in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, in 1962, and moved to Appleton, Wisconsin, when she was four. She is a 1980 graduate of Appleton West High School.
She first traveled to the Soviet Union in 1982 as part of a Soviet Studies semester during her sophomore year in college. A year later, she returned to Moscow to work as a nanny for an American family. She lived there from 1983 to 1985, j...more
More about Lisa C. Paul...
She first traveled to the Soviet Union in 1982 as part of a Soviet Studies semester during her sophomore year in college. A year later, she returned to Moscow to work as a nanny for an American family. She lived there from 1983 to 1985, j...more
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