When Mike Bennek's ailing grandfather asks him to take time off from work for a research holiday to Ukraine, Mike eagerly accepts. Along with his brothers and a few friends, he looks forward to connecting with his family's past.
Mike finds his grandfather's birthplace with the help of the beautiful, strong-willed Natasha. Through her, he learns more about his culture and family than either he or his grandfather thought possible.
Five years after his research holiday, another opportunity to return to Ukraine and work with Natasha arises. Mike is forced to reexamine his mixed feelings about Natasha and in the process grows more to be the kind of man his grandfather hoped he would be.
Ken Saik, a retired social studies high school teacher, is a third-generation Canadian Ukrainian who lives in Alberta, Canada. In 2012, to bolster his limited cultural knowledge, he took a bus tour of Ukraine. The present Ukrainian life and love of their history revitalizes the author's fascination with his heritage as his book Old Country Surprises illustrates.
Ken Saik has published two other novellas and two novels. Check his website (www.saikwrites.com) for details on his other books.