A narrative of cultural translation, identity, and belonging.
The thrill of a new place fades quickly for Caroline Topperman when she moves from Vancouver to Poland in 2013. As she delves into her family’s history, tracing their migration through pre-WWII Poland, Afghanistan, Soviet Russia and beyond, she discovers the layers of their complex experiences mirror some of what she felt as she adapted to life in a new country. How does one balance honoring both one’s origins and new surroundings?
Your Roots Cast a Shadow explores where personal history intersects with global events to shape a family’s identity. From the bustling markets of Baghdad to the quiet streets of Stockholm, Topperman navigates the murky waters of history as she toggles between present and past, investigating the relationship between migration, politics, identity, and home. Her family stories bring history into the present as her paternal grandmother becomes the first woman allowed to buy groceries at her local Afghan market while her husband is tasked with building the road from Kabul to Jalalabad. Topperman’s Jewish grandfather, a rising star in the Communist Party, flees Poland at the start of WWII one step ahead of the Nazis, returning later only to be rejected by the Party for his Jewish faith. Topperman herself struggles with new cultural expectations and reconciling with estranged relatives.
A study in social acceptance, Topperman contends with what one can learn about an adopted culture while trying to retain the familiar, the challenges of learning new languages and traditions even as she examines the responsibilities of migrants to their new culture, as well as that society’s responsibility to them.
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Canada: Simon and Schuster
More than just writing prompts, Tell Me What You See inspires readers to take an extra second to absorb their surroundings.
Tell Me What You See inspires readers to take an extra second to absorb their surroundings through a powerful combination of writing prompts and photographs from author Caroline Topperman’s travels around the world.
As a lifelong explorer and wanderer herself, Topperman has compiled her travels and her thoughts into one book that will keep your creative juices flowing across time and continents through 99 different prompts.
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A practical guide for consciously making small changes to get healthy and fit without starving yourself or spending every minute at the gym.
This book is meant to be a starting point, a roadmap and a motivational booster when you feel your enthusiasm waning.
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Reviews for Your Roots Cast a Shadow
“These fleeting paragraphs help identify Topperman as sensitive and observant. Most of the book, however, deals with the adventures of the people closest to her on her family tree. It is an interesting European travelogue, with comparisons and contrasts to life in Canada.”
My Quick Take: A 2013 move to Poland frames the author’s quest to understand her family history of displacement over the decades, leading to personal insights. It was an absorbing read! (…) Important words, especially right now in history. A great book that I hope you’ll pick up.
ThreeTenticalsForward (Instagram)
I ever happy when it showed up in my Google books. I was not disappointed. I read it in one sitting. Caroline’s writing pulls you into a story that’s raw and real. Her words paint a picture in your mind that at times pull on your heartstrings and the next longing to escape to a Parisian café. As a person who often says I’m the face of assimilation the underlying tones of trying to find where she belongs touch me on an emotional level. Thank you so much Caroline Topperman for sharing your story