At 5:08 a.m. on February 24, Kateryna Pylypchuk woke up in Kyiv to the sound of bombing. The clock showed the exact time marking the end of her world: ambitious work plans and ideas, travels… All that remained was to save herselfand the children.

The inevitable changes, which shook something deep and significant within her, became an impetus to write about what have caused her and all Ukrainians so much pain. So, one after another, she wrote novellas and essays that reflect thestory of the active phase of the war in the first six months of the year.The book you hold in your hands contains words woven with emotions and experiences of ordinary people who have become heroes. It is prepared forsimultaneous publication in Ukrainian and English, because the goal is to help people all over the world better understand what each Ukrainian felt and how this war changed us all.