Sandy

“The vote for Ukraine’s independence spelled the end of the Soviet Union.”
― Serhii Plokhy, The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine

“She qualified but had refused to go on food stamps. Pride. She almost laughed out loud now. Counting Wolf, her household had grown by three humans and one canine in a single morning.”
― Tara M. Stringfellow, Memphis

“The pro-European revolution in Ukraine, which broke out a quarter century after the end of the Cold War, took a page from the Cold War fascination with the European West shared by the dissidents of Poland, Czechoslovakia, and other countries of the region, in some cases turning that fascination into a new national religion. The Revolution of Dignity and the war brought about a geopolitical reorientation of Ukrainian society. The proportion of those with positive attitudes toward Russia decreased from 80 percent in January 2014 to under 50 percent in September of the same year. In November 2014, 64 percent of those polled supported Ukraine’s accession to the European Union (that figure had stood at 39 percent in November 2013). In April 2014, only a third of Ukrainians had wanted their country to join NATO; in November 2014, more than half supported that course. There can be little doubt that the experience of war not only united most Ukrainians but also turned the country’s sympathies westward.”
― Serhii Plokhy, The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine

“The problem is that anchors don't just keep you from floating away. Sometimes, they drag you down.”
― Jodi Picoult, Wish You Were Here