In 2024, Australian author Andra Putnis released her debut book, Stories My Grandmothers Didn’t Tell Me, that delves into the powerful stories of her two Latvian grandmothers and their lives during the Second World War and immigrating to Australia.
The book provides a personal account of two women’s courageous stories of survival in response to unimaginable terror during the Soviet and Nazi occupations of Latvia. From what started as the curiosity of a child and seeing traces of past lives in her family homes, Andra knew that there was more than meets the eye with her grandmothers. Breaking the unspoken family code of leaving the past in the past, Andra goes on a journey of discovery to listen and understand both her grandmother's experience of hardship and survival.
Her debut novel captures the importance of creating a space for the stories of our grandmothers and those that came before, to share their experiences unapologetically and feel that they are being seen. By recounting these stories, that may have otherwise been hidden, it gives readers an opportunity to understand where we came from and what the future looks like. It is through the eyes of our grandmothers, and those that came before us, and in their stories of survival that we can truly see the path forward.
Read some of Andra’s insights on her debut in the interview below.
Erin: How has writing this book affected your own view of your family’s past and your connection to Latvia?
Andra: Growing up I only had glimpses of my family’s past and dream-like impressions of Latvia as fairytale place of wonder but also deep darkness and fear. I now understand far more of the reality of what my grandmothers and many others went through to survive the Soviet and then Nazi occupations of Baltic and other Eastern European countries during the Second World War and eventually come to build new lives in Australia. I have a much deeper and richer (more beautiful and painful) understanding of my family’s past. I now have a stronger connection with Latvia and a desire to continue to learn more through my life.
Erin: Towards the end of the book you included a conversation you had with your Nanna Aline where she spoke about the initial shame she felt with sharing her stories with you. However, after seeing the care you took to hear her stories, and to understand your family, her shame was replaced with love.
Considering the mixed emotions both your grandmothers would have encountered in sharing their stories, such as shame, grief and trauma, but also love, what is your understanding now of the role of storytelling in empowering individuals to share their experiences?
Andra: People telling their stories and being ‘seen’ by others can be a powerful process full of deep complicated emotions. It’s important to tread very carefully and understand that connection, understanding and healing can come from the process but it can also raise grief, regret and trauma. Nanna Aline and I managed by weaving between darker and lighter stories, taking our time and looking after one another. It helped immensely that Nanna Aline was a reflective person who took the lead, and a lot of the time my job was to listen without judgement in love and companionship. Nanna Aline was empowered in the sense that she was in the driver’s seat in terms of the way ‘meaning’ was made from her life story.
But there is no doubt that family history storytelling is full of risk as well as it having the potential to foster much deeper connections between family members, understanding and, ultimately, joy.
Erin: Your book not only includes your grandmothers stories, but also covers your historical research of World War II in Latvia and post-war life in Australia. How did you balance the personal accounts and historical research in your narrative? Did you encounter any challenges in blending these two elements?
Andra: The biggest challenge was in trying to make sure the personal accounts were front and centre to create a compelling read, while making sure that enough important historical information was included to give an effective account of the war and its aftermath. That was a difficult balancing act and I researched far more of Latvia’s history and post-war migration to Australia than ended up in the final manuscript.
Erin: I really enjoyed reading about the richness of Latvian culture, and the ways that both of your grandmothers worked to keep their connection to Latvia alive in Australia for their friends and family. What were some key learnings that your grandmothers passed onto you about Latvian culture, and what do you do to feel connected to your culture and your grandmothers?
Andra: My grandmothers passed on a love for the beauty of the Latvian countryside with its forests of birch, oak and pine trees, idyllic farmland, rivers, lakes and wildflowers. This was made more poignant through exposure to interpretations of the landscape in Latvian art, music, song and folk-dancing.
But I feel most connected to my grandmothers when entertaining – trying to beautifully set a table and put out a wonderful array of food for family and friends (not only Latvian food but other cuisines too). I always wonder whether my grandmothers might approve of how good the table looks!
Erin: In what ways do you think your book contributes to the broader understanding of Latvian history and culture, especially from the perspective of personal family stories?
Andra: The book is a contribution to understanding the complexity of the Latvian migrant experience in Australia. It gives people a sense of what my grandmothers left behind in Latvia, how their lives were defined by their experiences of the Second World War and then how they went on to live long lives in Australia and explore this country, while having their lives profoundly shaped by all they’d already been through.
While it provides the reader with an understanding of some important aspects of Latvian culture and history, it is also universal in the sense that it paints a picture of the arc of human life through two women’s stories. I feel that family stories told well can make us care and learn about the past and where we fit in the human chain of life in a way that broader historical accounts alone cannot.
Find Andra on her: Website | Instagram | Facebook
Find the book: Story Graph | Good Reads | Big W | Dymocks
