Authors

Discussion

Life writing has long served as a subversive form of counter-narrative to challenge societal norms, expose injustices, and give perspective to marginalized individuals. I apply a decolonial, disability, and environmental studies lens to analyze the forceful counter-narrative offered by Volodymyr Vakulenko-K. in I am transforming…A Diary of Occupation (Vivat, 2023), where the late Ukrainian poet and activist provides an eyewitness account of the early weeks of the Russian occupation of his native Kapytolivka. Through his meticulous documentation of war crimes committed by the so-called Russian “liberators,” the occupiers’ insidious relationships with local collaborators, his own experiences as a volunteer, and personal struggle as a single parent of an autistic son, Vakulenko thus provides, in his Diary, a much needed counter-narrative to Putin’s false claims about denazification and brotherhood. Writing at a time of great uncertainty, when there was either no news or a barrage of misinformation, Vakulenko knew his life was in danger, buried his secret diary under a cherry tree, and asked his father to share it with international communities after the occupation was over. I complement my analysis with Kateryna Lykhohliad’s documentary, Notes Under the Cherry Tree (Suspil’ne, 2022). Sharing counter-narratives, as per Vakulenko’s final wish, can help us argue for the provision of sustained military assistance to Ukraine, investment in mental health and disability services, hit hard by the ongoing war, and the long-term effects of environmental devastation. Thus, focusing on Vakulenko’s Diary, which I am translating into English, I underscore the importance of writing, translating, and disseminating texts for Ukraine’s ongoing fight and post-war recovery.