No person has the same effect on others and nowhere is this more true than in the case of the late Virginia poet Maria Prytula. Lilacs in the Spring is a collection of essays, letters and poems that perfectly capture the wonder that was Maria.

“These meditations on the Life of Maria Prytula are touching proof of the effect that can be achieved, from a literary standpoint, when a number of people turn their minds to honoring a friend with words set down. Primarily prose anecdotes flesh out a woman who never rested and who loved to be hospitable. Maria’s son Bohdan recounts a mother whose impact on her sons and others was significant. He learned to be versatile and do many things because that is what kind of mother he had. Maria’s daughter-in-law introduces the parallel with Maria Von Trapp from The Sound of Music. The parallel with Maria Prytula seems to work. Indeed, Patricia Dale writes of her beautiful contralto voice! Maria’s Ukranian roots were present in many different ways. I enjoyed reading about her cooking skills (making vareniki), her storytelling, her gardening, her Easter eggs and her embroidery. Linda Dove writes about her dignity in accepting death, a comment that is reflected by anyone else touching on the end of her life. This book makes it clear, with its well-written prose and poetry, that Maria was greatly loved and that she helped to make the world a better place. Although J. Barclay Rosser, Jr. writes that she wandered through the fields alone, Lilacs in the Spring attests to the amount of love that accompanied her wherever she went.” — Judge, 25th Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards

Self-Published | Soft Cover | September 2016 | 110 Pages | 5-1/2 x 8-1/4

ISBN-10: 0-692-71087-6

ISBN-13: 978-0-692-71087-6