Victoria Amelina’s ‘Homecoming Story’

I couldn’t attend her memorial in Boston last weekend, but I did add my voice to a beautiful “bouquet” for a beautiful soul.

Victoria Amelina, 1986-2023

It’s hard to look at the photograph above and not hear Victoria Amelina’s beautiful voice, full of hope and resolve, saying to me, as she did during our TFP conversation in August 2022, that it’s very important for her and her fellow Ukrainians to “maintain a sense of not just surviving, but living.” One of the bravest and most gifted writers of her generation, Victoria lived those words until her last breath, which, tragically, came on July 1, 2023, far too soon for her family, her nation, and her countless friends, readers, and admirers worldwide.

Last weekend, a handful of those friends gathered in Boston for a memorial for Victoria titled “Nothing Bad Has Ever Happened,” also the title of one of Victoria’s remarkable essays, as well as a new book of tributes to her by writers from Europe, Latin America, Ukraine, and the U.S., including two Pulitzer Prize winners, and—I’m honored and humbled to say—me. The book, whose full title is Nothing Bad Has Ever Hap…