Caroline Topperman’s memoir is not only highly anticipated but powerfully titled. Your Roots Cast a Shadow: One Family's Search Across History for Belonging (HCI, December 17, 2024), arises from Caroline’s 2013 move from Vancouver to her family’s homeland, Poland, and encourages readers to examine the ways in which family histories shape our understanding of ourselves and society.
We’re honoured to have Caroline join us today to speak to why she decided to share her family history with readers from around the world. Welcome, Caroline!
Your Roots Cast a Shadow: One Family's Search Across History for Belonging by Caroline Topperman (published by HCI).
Q: Sharing family stories can be fraught with tension and uncertainty. What made you decide to write this book—and share these stories—now?
A: In 2015 (when I started writing this book) Poland was very different than it is now, and frankly much of what I saw scared me. It was an eye-opening experience to participate in a Pride parade and have rows of police officers decked out in tactical gear on either side of our float. I was shocked each time I saw neo-Nazis and fascists and ultra-Nationalists marching through the streets. I participated in counter-marches; I signed petitions and it became more and more obvious that history is easily forgotten. I decided that I couldn’t stay silent.
More about Your Roots Cast a Shadow: One Family's Search Across History for Belonging:
Your Roots Cast a Shadow: One Family's Search Across History for Belonging is a gripping and powerful narrative of cultural translation, identity, and belonging. The thrill of a new place fades quickly for Caroline Topperman when she moves from Vancouver to Poland in 2013. As she delves into her family’s history, tracing their migration through pre-WWII Poland, Afghanistan, Soviet Russia and beyond, she discovers the layers of their complex experiences mirror some of what she felt as she adapted to life in a new country. How does one balance honouring both one’s origins and new surroundings?
Author Caroline Topperman.
More about Caroline Topperman:
Caroline Topperman is a European-Canadian writer, entrepreneur, and world traveller. Born in Sweden, raised in Canada with a recent stint of living in Poland, she holds a BFA in screenwriting. She is a co-founder of Mountain Ash Press and KW Writers Alliance, and currently runs Migrations Review, and Write, They Said. Her book, Tell Me What You See, serves as a toolkit for her writing workshops. She has written articles for Huffington Post Canada, Jane Friedman’s blog, was the Beauty Editor for British MODE Magazine, and served as managing editor for NonBinary Review. Her hybrid memoir, Your Roots Cast a Shadow, explores explosive intergenerational histories that link war zones and foreign shores with questions of identity and belonging. Her next book, The Road to Tang-e Gharu, integrates Afghan folktales and family memories with the story of one of the greatest roads ever built.