Threads: A Family’s Journey Through Turbulent Times

A true story of four generations of women whose love and courage spanned continents and survived two world wars.

From the glittering palaces of Tsarist Russia to the frozen hell of Siberian labor camps, from war-torn Europe to the sun-drenched shores of South Africa, Threads tells the extraordinary true story of four generations of women whose strength held a family together through the most turbulent century in human history.

Beginning in 1900 when young Adele leaves Estonia for St. Petersburg to work as a seamstress in the Tsar's palace, this powerful memoir traces an incredible family journey through:

• The Russian Revolution and the family's harrowing escape from Bolshevik Russia
• Raja's wartime service in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force during WWII
• Boris's arrest and deportation to Magadan labor camp in Siberia, where he perished
• His wife Maia's voluntary journey to the Gulag to find her husband
• The family's dispersal across three continents as Soviet occupation tore Estonia apart

Based on diaries, letters, and family documents preserved against all odds, Threads brings to life forgotten chapters of 20th-century history—including the Soviet deportations that claimed over 20 million lives and decimated the Baltic States.

Rose O'Flynn honors her mother Raja and the remarkable women who came before her in this meticulously researched family history that reads like the most gripping historical fiction, but carries the profound weight of truth.

For readers of:

• The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
• Educated by Tara Westover
• Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys (memoir readers who also read historical fiction)

"More than a memoir—this is a testament to the threads of love that bind families across time, distance, and unimaginable adversity."

Second Edition includes enhanced historical context and newly discovered documents.