Escape from Mariupol

Book excerpt: The incredible true story of an ordinary Ukrainian woman’s perilous journey to freedom in the face of Russia’s invasion in 2022. In early 2022, life in the port city of Mariupol, Ukraine, was safe and predictable for Adoriana Marik. The thirty-one-year-old tattoo artist loved walking her dog by the seaside and meeting friends at cafes and public gardens. But all that changed on February 24th, when Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his “special military operation.” Adoriana was forced to hide in a filthy network of basements and underground tunnels. For more than a month, under deafening round-the-clock bombardment, she huddled with little food or water, and no heat, surrounded by groans from the sick and the smell of death. Then she decided to escape. Escape from Mariupol is an incredible tale of a brave young woman’s indomitable will to survive, as told to award-winning author Anne K. Howard.