A Rose for Sergei
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Amazon Book Description:
“Do we really know what we are getting
ourselves into…”
Sergei Kourdakov jumped from a Russian trawler in
1971 and barely survived the treacherous swim to the rocky shores of Queen
Charlotte Islands, Canada. The handsome, twenty-year-old ex-KGB naval
intelligence officer had defected—leaving behind a horrific life he could no longer
face.
K. Kidd’s search for independence and a career with
the Federal Government led her on a journey that far surpassed any
expectations. A year after Sergei defected she was introduced to him at her
office in Washington, DC. The moment they met, the immediate attraction
surprised them both. “Even you could be spy,” Sergei whispered.
This improbable, unbelievable true story chronicles
K. Kidd’s real-life relationship with a man who gave up everything for freedom.
In her eye-opening memoir, the author reveals a side of Sergei Kourdakov that
few people ever saw.
What
Readers are Saying
“Your story is amazing.”—Anna
Whiston-Donaldson, New York Times best-selling author of Rare
Bird: A Memoir of Loss and Love
“Gripping read, gripping Memoir.”
“Fascinating true-life Cold War Romance.”
“This is a must read if you've read the
book, The Persecutor.”
**Note: This book has been cleared for open
publication by the Department of Defense’s Office of Prepublication and
Security Review (DoD/OPSR).
Killeen, I have read your book and am completely bowled over by it! I think we all fell in love with Sergei the first time round, when "Forgive Me, Natasha" came out, then I fell in love with him all over again when I read your book. I watched the Caroline Walker documentary, and was appalled by how poorly researched it was - anyone could see that the childhood friends of Sergei were not telling the truth, and, more significantly, neither was L Joe Bass. Sergei was a real, genuine, loving and lovable person, but I think he was exploited by the evangelical church, who saw the potential to make money out of his story. When I googled L Joe Bass, I found compromising stories, lawsuits, misappropriation of monies entrusted to him and the church. Why did Caroline Walker, in the interests of fairness, not investigate him as well? Or perhaps she, as an evangelical Christian, could not bear to accept her faith in the established church was a sham?
ReplyDeleteI loved the book, particularly your journey to independence, being able to buy a car, have your own apartment and career, and find that as a social history, to be very valuable.I admire you for that, as well as for clearing Sergei's name. I think Sergei must have had deep misgivings about the church, too, as he chose to confide in Mr Logos, rather than the people at the Christian centre. Love the book!
Wow! I’m speechless, which is a bad thing for a writer. :) Heartfelt thanks for your comments. I’m thrilled you loved “A Rose for Sergei,” and even more so that you took the time to contact me. When a book evokes this type of response from a reader…well, it doesn’t get any better than that. I am overwhelmed by your kind words. You raise some good questions. I’ll follow up on them in my next blog post.
Deleteposyzadok Why do you think that Caroline Walker's film poorly researched? Do you actually believe that Sergei's friends would chime in with his singing about how brutal and cannibalistic USSR was? Who in their right mind would say "Yes, yes, I did beat those and killed those etc."???
Deleteigoryen - Thank you for your comment. I recognize that a lot of work went into making the film Forgive Me Sergei. My reply is that the film wasn't completely researched. You are absolutely right, Sergei's friends in Russia would know it would be "bad for their health"* if they confirmed anything Sergei talked about in a film!
Delete*Quote is from a US Military Intelligence officer when I asked about Sergei's friends speaking out publicly for a documentary.