At nine years old, it is hard to understand the news that you might not ever go back home. 

In this tender and observant coming-of-age memoir, an American daughter of Ukrainian immigrants, Sophia Tyutyunnyk, writes about the anxious and formative months she spent living in Ukraine during the final stages of her family’s path to legal residency in the United States. Named for the chestnut flower that is a symbol of Kyiv, Candle on the Tree takes the reader on a journey through loss, homesickness, realization, and resilience  as Tyutyunnyk discovers the motherland of her parents. But even as the shy nine-year old from small-town Maine finds deep roots in Ukraine, she copes with the agonizing uncertainty of being uprooted.  

What if Sophia has to return to America without her parents? Can she belong in Ukraine?  Is the girl on the marshrutka in Kyiv the same person as the one who left her fourth-grade life  in America?  

Against the backdrop of a war that has been raging for years, Tyutyunnyk introduces the reader to the resilient and creative people of Ukraine and the culturally rich tapestry of the country’s capital city.  

MEMOIR | Paperback | 2025 | ISBN: 979-8-9909764-4-3