In Chicago, at the Church of St. Joseph the Betrothed, a presentation of the memorial book "Ray of the Sun" about the fallen Hero of Ukraine, Mykhailo Yavorsky, took place. The author and compiler of the book is journalist Ruslana Romaniuk. My initial feelings from what I heard and saw at the presentation can be summarized as follows: this event left a mark on the hearts of everyone present; this memorial book has already entered history because it is about something very intimate. About Fate — in the sense of this word with a capital letter. About a Person and their Deed — both words also with capital letters.

The author of the book says: "In my introductory word, I wrote: 'This book does not claim to be a historical publication. It is not documentary. It is not artistic. It is simply a book-fate. I know that neither in literature nor in journalism is there such a genre. But perhaps now it will appear after this terrible, senseless war. Because the fate of everyone who stood up to defend their native land deserves attention. And among them are fates that are remarkably special.'"

One of such fates was discussed at the presentation. It was not just an event; it was a deep conversation about life, about choice, and the price of love for one's own, for the native. Mykhailo Yavorsky lived more than half of his life (from 16 to 42 years) in the United States, had a family — a wife and a daughter, had relatives and friends, a good job, a beautiful home, made plans for the future, and nurtured dreams in his thoughts. One of these dreams was quite unexpected — to return to live in Ukraine someday. Because he said: my soul and heart are there. And when war came to the native land where he was born, he left his prosperous American life and, following the call of his Ukrainian blood, went to where the bleeding heart of our Ukraine was beating. And where his heart stopped beating on May 25, 2023. He spent 15 months at war and died saving his fellow soldiers.

The author and compiler of the book, Ruslana Romaniuk, was not personally acquainted with Mykhailo. She met the Yavorsky family when the news of Mykhailo's death — the Ukrainian defender with the call sign "Chicago" — arrived at their home like a black bird.

Ms. Ruslana was the first to write about his life story on the pages of the newspaper "Surma" and later returned to this topic several times when his sister Zoryana organized memorial evenings for her brother. Therefore, she readily supported the idea of the fallen warrior's mother, Maria Yavorska, to prepare a memorial book about her son. For about a year and a half, the journalist collected memories, pain, and love piece by piece, evoking openness from all her interlocutors, and created an honest, living story of a Person's Fate.

On the pages of the book, Mykhailo's closest people are the first to talk about him. His mother, Maria, whose eyes forever house sadness and pride for her son, wrapped in sorrow. His wife, Oksana, whose speech at the presentation is impossible to recall without tears, as her pain was felt in every word, every pause, every breath. She is a woman who lost her husband, lost her support, lost many shared dreams, as she continues to fly through life with one wing, but has not lost the love that reaches far into the past, to the first moment of their acquaintance, filled with memories shared by Ms. Oksana. These memories were very personal and very special: starting from how they rejoiced together at the birth of their daughter, how the father and daughter laughed loudly, inventing games and pranks, to how difficult it was to explain to little Solomiika that her father had died, that now he is in heaven and will touch her with a ray of the sun. When Mykhailo died, Solomiika was almost six years old, now she is a little over eight. Growing up, she will turn to this book more than once, seeking answers to questions in her father's story, seeking advice, trusting him with her secrets. And she will be filled with pride for her father. Although for her, he will forever remain that Hero with whom one could laugh loudly, inventing all sorts of games and pranks...

A touching moment at the presentation was the speech of his sister Zoryana — strong in the depth and meaning of her words, but with the pain of inner silence that cannot be hidden. She named her article for the book "I am learning to live with this pain...". Because it still burns. Because it does not pass. Because there remains a world in which he, her brother — she called even the adult Mykhailo by this tender word — will never be again.

Besides the closest family, the book tells about Mykhailo Yavorsky's fate through the voices of people with whom he shared weekdays, holidays, dreams — his classmates and teachers from the Kolomyia Gymnasium, relatives from Kosmach in Prykarpattia, friends from his service in the American army and from university studies, and simply friends from his youth. Of course, his fellow soldiers also tell their stories. Those who were surprised by his decision — to leave a prosperous life in America and voluntarily, secretly from his entire family, go to war. But then, when they got to know Mykhailo better, they understood that he really could not have acted otherwise. Those who say: he was one of us. And they add: he was the one worth ten.

The book "Ray of the Sun" is filled not only with interesting stories-memories but also with almost three hundred photographs from Mykhailo Yavorsky's life before and during the war, and moving photos from evenings honoring his memory. An interesting section is "Forever Nearby": here are collected articles from Ukrainian and American media that addressed the Hero's story. Undoubtedly valuable and important are the articles-thoughts shared by Bishop Benedict Aleksiychuk of the Chicago Eparchy of the UGCC and former Ukrainian Ambassador to the USA Oksana Markarova. The book's design (a professional work by Ihor Lisovych from Lviv) is so creative, thoughtful, and special that once you take it in your hands, you immediately want to flip through it page by page. By the way, Mr. Ihor, together with the owner of the newspaper "Surma," Volodymyr Dolynka, contributed maximally to the publishing and delivery of the book "Ray of the Sun" to Chicago. The book was published in Ukrainian, but some fragments are translated into English so that English-speaking readers can understand who and what it is about. The print run is 2,000 copies, divided equally between America and Ukraine.

An important nuance of the work on the publication, which the author Ruslana Romaniuk mentioned at the presentation, is: "There were no difficulties in preparing the book; there was only the internal concern that later, when the book about Mykhailo Yavorsky sees the world, we would not be accused of idealizing only one person. But I think there will definitely be no such accusations. Because the book mentions many Ukrainian defenders. Both those who continue the fight and those who, unfortunately, have died. Dozens of names. They are all in this book."

And they were all mentioned at the presentation — in the stories of those present, in the prayer that sounded with special reverence and spiritual strength under the cover of the Church of St. Joseph the Betrothed. That church, which was a spiritual home for Mykhailo: here he and Oksana were married, here they baptized their daughter, and from here he was taken on his last journey, as the fallen warrior was transported from Ukraine for burial in Chicago. The church became a great support for Mykhailo's family then, at the time of farewell to a dear person, and is a support now, as the family goes through life with eternal pain. Therefore, at the presentation of the Book of Memory, the prayer and speech of Father Mykola Buryadnyk, the blessing of Bishop Benedict through a video message, the presence of Father Andriy, Father Volodymyr, Father Yaroslav, and Father Bohdan made all present reflect on who we are in this life, what values are most important to us. They filled our hearts with faith, which holds us when it seems there is no strength left; filled with words that became a touch to the living memory of a son, a husband, a father, a brother, a friend. Therefore, all the speakers talked about Mykhailo with tears and pride, knowing that he lived his life honestly and made his choice consciously. Because they affirmed once again: he was special to everyone. And they shared stories that evoked laughter through tears, recalled Mykhailo's jokes, his kindness, his passion for family stories, his love for sweets (oh, what a sweet tooth he was, he could eat them by the kilogram!), talked about his inner freedom and his big heart, which had room for love for his relatives and love for Ukraine — that sincere and devoted love that did not fade even across the ocean. This is what the book "Ray of the Sun" was created about. And it was born as a bridge between continents, between the past and the future, between a truly great Hero and little Solomiika, who, reading every line, will always be proud of her father.

A special addition to the presentation were the performances of its talented guests — the vocal studio "Elegy" under the direction of Svitlana Polyak, soloist (and at the same time the host of the event) Maryana Balash, and the honored artist of Ukraine Svitlana Vesna. An extraordinarily powerful final chord of the presentation meeting were the warm video plots and photos from Mykhailo Yavorsky's life, which were shown on the screen. There was even a video from twenty years ago of a performance by the Boychuk family ensemble from the Carpathian Kosmach, in which Mykhailo's grandfather sang. It was truly worth seeing!

And I also noticed a kind of geography that was traced throughout the book presentation: viewers and guests from Chicago, friends from Pennsylvania, California, and Texas (who came specifically for the meeting); video plots from Kolomyia, Ternopil, Lviv, Bohorodchany; the book was printed in Ukraine, delivered to America... They say Mykhailo had a special gift in life — to gather people around him. It seems he continues to do this even now. From there, from beyond, becoming a ray of the sun... Because there are people who, leaving, remain...

"Ray of the Sun" — very apt, very correct words by which the book is named. A book-fate. A book-memory. A book-love. A book released into the world by Ruslana Romaniuk and the Yavorsky family. A book that has already entered history.

P.S. A special moment: at the end of the book presentation, its author Ruslana Romaniuk received an extraordinary gift — a flag, a commemorative plaque, and a chevron from the 67th Separate Mechanized Brigade, the one in which the fallen Hero served.

The Yavorsky family is sincerely grateful to everyone for their assistance in organizing the memorial evenings for Mykhailo Yavorsky and, in particular, the evening-presentation of his memorial book, and for the technical and organizational work in the publication of the book; grateful to everyone for their material support, as they continue to help Mykhailo's fellow soldiers.

The book "Ray of the Sun" can be purchased by contacting Ms. Maria Yavorska (phone 773 550 8950). All collected funds will also be directed to help the fellow soldiers.

Photo by Tetyana Drozhzhina