The Embrace

June M. Blurton is a retired speech/language pathologist.

Following the advance of the Russians into Lithuania in 1944, Pranas
stays on his farm, becomes a Communist, and raises a large family.
Edvardas, his brother, flees and eventually settles in Canada. He brings
up his daughter, Aldona, to share his guilt over having deserted his
homeland—a guilt that makes her feel that she belongs to neither the
East nor the West.

Aldona and her cousin, Daiva, correspond briefly during their teens,
but the silence of the Cold War prevents either family from
understanding the other. It is not until 1965 that Aldona and her father
visit Lithuania. The trip is not a success. Aldona is discouraged from
making a connection with her cousins by the “bland, unforgiving faces,
careful faces they turn to the world.” It is not until 20 years later
that she realizes they want more than tracksuits, running shoes, and
aspirin.

The writing is so vivid that The Embrace is more like a memoir than a
novel. The descriptions of life behind the old Iron Curtain are
shocking, but it is Guilford’s exploration of the difficult theme of
survivor guilt that makes her book truly memorable.