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Mohrbooks Literary Agency
Sebastian Ritscher
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English
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THE FIGHT OF OUR LIVES

Iuliia Mendel

My Time With Zelenskyy, Uktraine's Battle for Democracy and What it Means for the World

When Ukrainian journalist Iuliia Mendel got the call that 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.

Iuliia Mendel formerly worked as Press-Secretary/Spokesperson for the President of Ukraine. Earlier she planned, developed, and improved the World Bank's external communications in Ukraine.
She has been published at the New York Times, Washington Post, Politico Europe, the Atlantic Council, VICE, World Affairs Journal, Spiegel Online, and CNBC. She has been a frequent guest on television in the United States and other markets during the invasion of Ukraine, including MSNBC, CBC, and CNN. She is on Twitter as @IuliiaMendel.
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Published 2022-09-13 by One Sinal / Atria

Comments

Iuliia Mendel's extraordinary story shows us her Ukraine, a young country that chose progress with President Zelenskyy's transformative election but now finds itself under attack in Vladimir Putin's war on democracy.

A closely observed [and] nuanced portrait of a leader in a time of crisis who has definitely risen to the occasion.

Finland: Docendo/WSOY ; France: Talent Editions ; Poland: Agora

Who is Mr. Zelenskyy? Few people who write about the Ukrainian president and his surprising meteoric rise, first to the top of Ukrainian politics and then to the status of America's most popular foreign leader, know him as well as Iuliia Mendel. In this book she shares with the world her personal story as the first press secretary of Mr. Zelenskyy and the story of the president and the country he leads. This is an essential read for anyone who wants to understand Ukraine of today and the values it fights for.

By sharing her own story, Iuliia Mendel offers a powerful window into the soul of modern Ukraine. The Fight of Our Lives brings you inside a generation raised in transformation and provides vital context around Putin's war on Ukraine. Her journey and her nation's will move you and push you to learn more.

In earnest and perceptive prose, Mendel's The Fight of Our Lives tells the gripping story of Ukraine's determined coming-of-age amid the most ghastly of circumstances.

Iuliia Mendel's book reminds that war is not only about machines and destructionit is also about people and ideas. The Fight of Our Lives shows us how Ukraine's fight for freedom is our fighthumanity's fight against tyranny.