New Epic Travel Memoir by Kostash

(University of Alberta Press) - Ten years in the writing, Myrna Kostash’s new book Prodigal Daughter is a historical, cultural and spiritual odyssey from a master of creative non-fiction.

Prodigal Daughter: A Journey to Byzantium is the narrative of a woman’s journey through the Balkans as she embarks on her quest to find the real Demetrius.

A deep-seated questioning of her inherited religion resurfaces when Myrna Kostash chances upon the icon of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica, the Great Saint of the East. The discovery leads Kostash on an historical, cultural, and spiritual odyssey that begins in Edmonton, ranges around the Balkans, and plunges into a renewed vision of Byzantium. As we travel with Kostash through the history of the Balkans, we are led to an unexpected place - the threshold of her childhood church.

An epic work of travel memoir, Prodigal Daughter sings with immediacy and depth, rewarding readers with a profound sense of an adventure they have lived.

“The slow recovery from the hubris of Western Civilization must include a reconsideration of Byzantine culture. Prodigal Daughter, with its perspective of personal exploration adds something new and different.”

- John-Paul Himka, Professor in History and Classics, University of Alberta

 “An anthropological, cultural, and religious quest on two levels: the personal, autobiographical and the wider sociological and cultural. It is both deeply spiritual and intellectually satisfying.”
- Tom Harpur, author, journalist, TV host

Author Myrna Kostash has been a strong voice in depicting the Ukrainian-Canadian experience and its roots in European history. She shared introductory remarks and signed her new book Prodigal Daughter at recent book celebrations held on November 30 at St. Vladimir Institute in Toronto and on December 1 at Saint Paul University in Ottawa, hosted by the Sheptytsky Institute.

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