Snapshots...Growing up Behind the Iron Curtain

By Eva Kende

Description:

In a collection of reminiscences, Eva Kende dips into her painful childhood to share her impressions of living a part of history that most people only heard of through news reports.
While this is Eva’s personal story, it reflects the minutiae of everyday life in post war Hungary until the 1956 Revolution when thousands felt compelled to flee to the west to seek a freer life in democratic countries such as Canada.
While this is a serious topic, Eva manages to entertain us with glimpses of humor throughout.
Snapshots...Growing up Behind the Iron Curtain is suitable for young adults, in fact, it has been recommended reading by social studies teachers.

Readers Say:
We're delighted that you are writing this book! It is a story that only those who experienced the times can fully tell the world. So many '56ers did not want to return to Hungary, nor tell of their experiences. Hooray for you!! (I hope you included the tale of your playing in the sand near the Parliament building.)
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I had intended to save your book for Christmas reading but found that I kept picking it up to read 'one more chapter'. And I finished reading it yesterday. You are an excellent story teller. The poignancy in your writing brought tears to my eyes at various points in the narrative.
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I have never read anything that describes my growing up years so well!
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I just finished reading "Snapshots..." and as I put the book down I had to get some kleenex to wipe tears from my eyes. Actually, I was very moved a number of times by your story. Thank you for sharing!
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I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your stories and recollections. They were so vivid, it gave me a great insight in to an historical period and culture that I knew precious little about. On the inside of the cover you wrote "Cherish freedom", and I must say that I do so on a daily basis. And yet, I also feel that I will never be able to fully appreciate it in the way that you must. I teach Soviet history to my grade 9 students, and we touch on the Hungarian Revolution rather briefly. This year, however, I had more to add than usual, as I read several passages of your book to my students. I think your personal experiences helped them more fully understand life in a Communist regime, and I plan to use it again in the future. If that is okay with you, that is. One of my students is a girl of Hungarian ancestry, and she was particularly touched by the stories. She said her grandparents had told her similar types of stories from their experiences as well. Anyway, thank you for your honesty, your excellent prose, and your contribution to the Canadian mosaic.
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What a book! I could scarcely put it down. Your writing is charming, informative, emotional, and a joy to read. You do have a real gift, even if it took almost your 9 lives to come to Canada before you could become an author. Thank Heaven you did. We are all the richer for it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Eva Kende
• Release date: Mar 10, 2011
• ISBN: 9780969165941

Eva Kende

I was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1941. Two years to the day when Germany invaded Poland. My home was about 5 blocks behind the Parliament buildings, the beautiful neo-gothic structure that you usually see on the news when Hungary mentioned. Suddenly my world was turned upside down and found myself as a refugee in Austria, then 4 months later, shivering at the corner of Portage and Main in Winnipeg. Learning English, adjusting to a new lifestyle and making friends with other young adults who were brought up in a stable, naive, yet in some ways more sophisticated, affluent western environment was no small feat. With a lot of help and understanding from friends and teachers, I successfully finished high school and earned a degree in Science at the University of Manitoba in 1963. Shortly after graduation I met and married another refugee, John Kende, a cartographer. His career-moves had us living in Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Calgary. For 20 years I worked as a biochemist, research assistant in medicine at various universities and hospitals across Canada. In 1984, I published my first cookbook Eva's Hungarian Kitchen, which amazingly still has a huge following, sold over 20,000 copies and is in 6th printing. My second cookbook, Eva's Kitchen Confidence is a compilation of methods, tips and techniques I've learned from experience. Although my jobs exposed me to computers very early, writing a 324 page book and teaching myself to compose an eBook was a challenge. I chose this format to make the book affordable for people trying to save money, time and still put a nutritious home cooked meal on the table. Our son Leslie was born in Winnipeg in 1968. He is an engineer, a graduate of Queen's University. He and his wife Ruth, a registered nurse, live in Calgary. On December 22, 1998 they presented us with a beautiful grandson Noah Thomas. Our second grandson, Anthony George was born April 23rd, 2001. Both boys give us great pleasure. Their unique view of life gives us new perspectives and challenges. We are "semi-retired" in Canmore Alberta in the Canadian Rocky Mountains and see the peaks of the Three Sisters from our windows. Our home is on the edge of an environmental reserve, near the Bow River. We have frequent visits from coyotes, bears, elk and deer in our back yard and there is a constant traffic around our bird feeders. -To the right is a Rufus Hummingbird.- I garden, knit, crochet, tole paint, read, volunteer, write and of course, cook up a storm. We travel to Hungary, exotic places like China, Cuba, Jamaica, Greece, Alaska, Russia, the Mediterranean, as well as, around Canada as frequently as possible. Snapshots...Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain was published to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution. It's a memoir of my childhood in Hungary that depicts the way that the repressive regime affected the everyday life of ordinary people including the world of young children. It is a reminder that we should cherish our freedom! To read about my previously published books and other writing projects, please visit me on my homepage: www.telusplanet.net/public/ekende

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