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  • The Fight of Our Lives

  • My Time with Zelenskyy, Ukraine's Battle for Democracy, and What It Means for the World
  • By: Iuliia Mendel
  • Narrated by: Jennifer Jill Araya, Iuliia Mendel
  • Length: 7 hrs and 13 mins
  • 5.0 out of 5 stars (8 ratings)

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The Fight of Our Lives

By: Iuliia Mendel
Narrated by: Jennifer Jill Araya, Iuliia Mendel
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Publisher's Summary

“Moving.”—The Washington Post

When Ukrainian journalist Iuliia Mendel got the call she had been hired to work for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, she had no idea what was to come.

In this frank and moving inside account, Zelenskyy’s former press secretary tells the story of his improbable rise from popular comedian to the president of Ukraine. Mendel had a front row seat to many of the key events preceding the 2022 Russian invasion. From attending meetings between Zelenskyy and Putin and other European leaders, visiting the front lines in Donbas, to fielding press inquiries after the infamous phone calls between Donald Trump and Zelenskyy that led to Trump’s first impeachment.

Mendel saw firsthand Zelenskyy’s efforts to transform his country from a poor, backward Soviet state into a vibrant, prosperous European democracy. Mendel sheds light on the massive economic problems facing Ukraine and the entrenched corrupt oligarchs in league with Russia. She witnessed the Kremlin’s repeated attacks to discredit Zelenskyy through disinformation and an army of bots and trolls.

Woven into her account are details about her own life as a member of Zelenskyy’s new Ukraine. Written with the sound of Russian bombs and exploding shells in the background, Mendel details life lived under Russian siege in 2022. She says goodbye to her fiancé who joins the front lines, like so many other Ukrainian men. Throughout this story of Zelenskyy, Ukraine, and its extraordinary people, Iuliia Mendel reminds us of the paramount importance of truth and human values, especially in these darkest of times.

©2021 Iuliia Mendel. English language copyright ©2022 Iuliia Mendel. All rights reserved. (P)2022 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Critic Reviews

"Jennifer Jill Araya’s narration bubbles over with the author’s enthusiasm for Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky. Mendel is the president’s former press secretary. Araya adds a soupçon of her anger toward Zelensky’s rivals to the discussion of Ukraine’s political environment before the recent war. When Mendel turns to the current invasion by Russia, mostly in the last chapter, Araya goes full throttle in expressing her outrage over the Mariupol bombings and the West’s reluctance to help Ukraine defend itself. With Araya stressing key points, Mendel discusses the use of social media and “fake news” to spread falsehoods. The audiobook opens with a timeline of events leading up to the invasion and an introduction from Mendel."AudioFile Magazine

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The back story to the start of the Zelensky era.

Such a fantastic book written from inside the Ukrainian fight to strip away the corruption of the Soviet era of domination and manipulation. I’m blown away by how hard the author has worked to play her part in helping Ukraine develop its democracy alongside the beginnings of Volodymyr Zelensky’s presidency and seeing him trying to prune out the institutional corruption controlled by the Soviet elite who suck the life out of their own people and work hard not to let Ukraine slip from their poison fingers.This is such a good listen I bought the book as well. Highly recommend this

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