Memoir of hardship breeds thankfulness
The Steppes are the Colour of Sepia
Connie Braun
Ronsdale Press, 2008
240 PAGES
Many Mennonite refugees who came to Canada after World War II are celebrating 60 years of peace and plenty this year, but most of their harrowing stories are still hidden, too difficult to recall, and unbelievable to those raised in Canada and to the privileged next generation.
Connie Braun tells the story of her father, Peter Letkamen, “who has reached the place not of remembering, because I truly think he never forgot, but of telling.”
There is obvious trust between father and daughter as she retells his memories in a frank, descriptive way that does not shy away from the horrifying details: a life of fear, want, and shifting homelessness under Stalin’s regime; the gulag incarceration of Grandfather; the trek to Germany; a daily struggle for food and shelter; working for several difficult hosts as a 15-year-old; farm labour and basket weaving to bring in much needed cash as the “head” of the family; the trip to Canada; and starting anew.
Throughout the book, the metaphor of water recurs: “river of time,” “stream of memory,” and Peter’s father on his deathbed as a refugee recites the verse, “the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land…a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing from the hills to the valleys…a land where bread will not be scarce.” The elder Letkamen’s life of perseverance and trust in God in the face of oppression, violence, and war, built character that produced hope for the future of his family.
Near the end of the book, Connie, who was raised in Canada in peace and plenty, comments on the sweetness of her present life.
We need to read about the experiences of refugees to fully appreciate and be thankful for this sweetness, and we owe Peter Letkamen our thanks for allowing his daughter to recount his candid memories.
The book includes six maps and more than 25 black and white photos. Notes and a selected bibliography at the end of the book point the interested reader to other books on this topic.
—Helen Rose Pauls
