by Jodie Toohey
Though the accounts in this book are fictional, personal accounts and research shows Serbs living in Croat-majority areas were discriminated against. Their neighbors and friends suddenly shunned them, they received threat letters and calls, and they were discriminated against in school, where their religion was listed in their student records. Many have written about how Serbs and Croats committed acts of ethnic cleansing against each other and many people were driven from their homes. Children often carried out their daily lives, essentially as usual, but lay awake at night fearing someone may break into kill them or drive their families to a “home” where they may have never visited.
I was seventeen to eighteen years old during this period and, being a teenager, I was engrossed in my own life and don’t recall knowing a great deal about the war in Yugoslavia. What I do recall hearing was about the acts of “Serbian insurgents,” and in my research for writing this book, I learned Serbs were largely blamed by American media for the war. However, the war occurred between the Serbs and the Croats who were both guilty of killing and committing crimes against the other. Readers are encouraged to consider the world outside of their own lives, towns, and country and be skeptical of media accounts of events they have not personally witnessed.
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FOR KATIE LEA
AND YOU
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Many special thanks to my good friend, Biljana. This book would not have been possible without you. Your experiences gave me the idea for this book and your extensive help brought it to fruition. Thank you so much for opening up to me over our several conversations. Thank you, also, for your encouragement, guidance, and fun lunches. I look forward to a lasting friendship.
Thanks to my critique partner, Connie Heckert. Your guidance, edits, suggestions, and title definitely made this book much better.
To Midwest Writing Center: Thank you for all of the connections, information, instruction, encouragement, and support as I’ve transitioned to full-time writer.
Finally, thanks to my husband, kids, mom, family, and friends who may not always understand me, but, nevertheless, freely give their encouragement and support.
A note about Croatian word pronunciation
Most of the Croatian words used in this book sound like they are spelled, except for several key differences:
The letter “Č” or “Ć” makes the “CH” sound like in the word, “church.” “DJ” or “dj” takes the hard “G” sound like in “giant.”
“J” or “j” makes the “Y” sound as in “yellow.”
The combination of “lj” makes the sound, “lli”, like in “trillion.”
The letter “Š” or “š” makes the “SH” sound like in “shape.”
The letter “Ž” or “ž” makes the English “J” sound like in “Jump.”
The letter “e” appearing at the end of a name makes the sound, “EH.”
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Carroll, Chris. “Serbs Face the Future: One Nation Divisible.” National Geographic, July 31, 2009. http://ngm.nationalgeographic. com/print/2009/07/serbs/carroll-text.
Cockburn, Alexander. “Beat the Devil: Hating Serbs is Fun.” The Nation, October 16, 1995, 411-412.
Dragnich, Alex N. Serbs and Croats: The Struggle in Yugoslavia. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1992.
Eyewitness Travel: Croatia. New York: DK Publishing, Inc., 2007.
Freedom from Despair: A Young Man’s Journey from Despair, A Nation’s Struggle for Freedom. DVD. Written and Directed by Brenda Brkusic. 2004.
Filipovic, Zlata. Zlata’s Diary: A Child’s Life in Sarajevo, 2nd ed. Des Moines, Iowa: Perfection Learning, 2006.
Gagnon, V.P., Jr.. The Myth of Ethnic War: Serbia and Croatia in the 1990s. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 2004.
Gazi, Stephen. A History of Croatia. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1993.
Goldstein, Ivo. Croatia: A History. Montreal & Kingston: McGill- Queen’s University Press, 1999.
Kaplan, Robert D. Balkan Ghosts: A Journey Through History. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2005.
Neier, Aryeh. “Watching Rights.” The Nation, January 9/16, 1995, 43.
Tanner, Marcus. Croatia: A Nation Forged in War, 2nd ed. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001.
Yugoslavia: The Avoidable War. Directed by George Bogdanich. 1999.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jodie Toohey is the author of two other novels – Melody Madson – May It Please the Court? and Taming the Twisted – as well as two poetry collections – Crush and Other Love Poems for Girls and The Other Side of Crazy.
When Jodie is not writing poetry or fiction, she is helping authors, soon-to-be-authors, and want-to-be authors from pre-idea to reader through her company, Wordsy Woman Author Services. She lives in Iowa with her husband, daughter, son, and beagle, Maizey.
Learn more about Jodie’s books and sign up to receive updates at jodietoohey.com.
Learn more about her authors services at wordsywomanforauthors.com.