Experience Eastern Europe During the Fall of Communism

Naples, Florida – WEBWIRE – Thursday, June 8, 2017

“Living with a Scent of Danger: European Adventures at the Fall of Communism”

The memoir presents the insights of an American, married to a Belarus-American, about the damages of repressive Communist rule to Eastern Europe.

People who want to know how it was to live behind the Iron Curtain usually turn to the stories and testimonies of dissidents. They also get information from the news, history books or a few spy thrillers. Perhaps they should add Joanne Ivy Stankievich’s memoir “Living with a Scent of Danger: European Adventures at the Fall of Communism” (Outskirts Press, 2013) to their reading list.

Growing up on a farm, Stankievich wanted to go on “exciting adventures in far-off lands,” and years later her dreams of adventure took flight – to Europe. She was to accompany her husband, a Belarus-American to Munich and then to Prague, when he started a job at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, becoming the Director of the Belarus Service. She had no hesitation to relocate as it was “a very interesting time to go to Europe given (Soviet Union President Mikhail) Gorbachev’s Glasnost (translated as ‘openness’ in Russian) policies.”

While in Europe, Stankievich indeed lived out her life of adventure on both sides of the political divide. “Living with a Scent of Danger” details her dangerous excursions into Soviet Europe, interactions with dissidents, encounters with Communist secret police, and life in post-Communist, corruption-ridden Prague. In the right place and at the right time, the author witnessed the fall of Communism and the chaos and progress that followed.

For readers interested in the affairs of the former Soviet Union, “Living with a Scent of Danger” makes a compelling read in the light of Russia’s (successor state to the Soviet Union) current aggressions against Georgia and Ukraine.

Stankievich’s “Living with a Scent of Danger: European Adventures at the Fall of Communism” last appeared at the 2017 Book Expo America.

“Living with a Scent of Danger: European Adventures at the Fall of Communism”
Written by Joanne Ivy Stankievich
Published by Outskirts Press
Published date: February 1, 2013
Paperback price: $16.95

About the Author

International topics intrigued Joanne ever since day-dreaming about exotic adventures during her farm childhood. After college, she moved to New York City and worked with Eleanor Roosevelt on model U.N. programs, married a Belarusian activist, and then found herself in the midst of history-changing events. Earlier journalism training prompted her to record the events and insights gained.