For Erin Litteken, Ukrainian history is family lore — and fodder for fiction

Erin Litteken didn’t set out to capitalize on newfound interest in Ukraine. The Troy, Illinois, resident worked for a full decade on her debut novel, “The Memory Keeper of Kyiv.” That it’s being released at a time of unprecedented interest in Ukraine’s fate is pure coincidence.

That it depicts the nation’s suffering as a result of Russian meddling is less coincidence than, well, history. The granddaughter of a Ukrainian refugee, Litteken grew up hearing about the difficulties of life in Eastern Europe during, and after, World War II. That led her to the Holodomor, a time when Stalin’s heavy-handed attempts to force Ukraine to collectivize left an estimated 13% of the nation dead.