Book Nook - Your Roots Cast a Shadow: One Family’s Search Across History for Belonging

Caroline Topperman was born in Sweden, grew up in Canada and lived in Poland for four years where she searched for her family’s roots — and found herself.

“North Americans are used to gaps, so much so that we often forget where our roots are buried. It’s easy to say, ‘I’m French Canadian or Irish American,’ but what does that even mean?” Topperman asks in her new book, Your Roots Cast a Shadow: One Family’s Search Across History for Belonging. “We need to understand who we are, and how we’re all connected.”

Your Roots Cast a Shadow follows Topperman’s emotional, eye-opening journey as she moves from Vancouver to Poland in 2013. She delves into her family’s history, tracing their migration through pre-WWII Poland, Afghanistan, Soviet Russia and beyond, and discovers that their complex experiences mirror some of what she felt as she adapted to life in a new country. How does one balance honoring both one’s origins and new surroundings?

Coaxing memories from photographs and relying on voices from the past to guide her in her search for identity and belonging, Topperman explores where personal history intersects with global events to shape her family’s identity.

“While writing Your Roots Cast a Shadow, I relied upon old letters and a book written by my grandfather,” Topperman said. “During one of my deep dives, I found that his book is referenced at The Holocaust Museum and the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.”

From the bustling markets of Baghdad to the quiet streets of Stockholm, Topperman navigates the murky waters of history as she toggles between present and past, investigating the relationship between migration, politics, identity and home. Her family stories bring history into the present as her paternal grandmother becomes the first woman allowed to buy groceries at her local Afghan market while her husband is tasked with building the road from Kabul to Jalalabad. Topperman’s Jewish grandfather, a rising star in the Communist Party, flees Poland at the start of WWII one step ahead of the Nazis, returning later only to be rejected by the Party for his Jewish faith. Topperman herself struggles with new cultural expectations and reconciling with estranged relatives. A study in social acceptance, Topperman contends with what one can learn about an adopted culture while trying to retain the familiar, the challenges of learning new languages and traditions even as she examines the responsibilities of migrants to their new culture, as well as that society’s responsibility to them.

“This is a well-written book that reads in some parts like an action-packed thriller, and in others as an introspective search through history and ideology to uncover the truth about her family and herself,” said award-winning author Dr. Nora Gold in her review of Topperman’s book. “Readers will find much to learn and enjoy as they follow Topperman on this personal and multi-layered journey.”

About the Author

Born in Sweden and raised in Canada, Caroline Topperman returned to her ancestral roots in Poland in 2013 to live and to explore her love of traveling and experiencing different cultures. From sampling authentic Neapolitan Pizzas in Naples, to photographing a piano, frozen in a river in Užupis, an independent artist’s republic in Lithuania, to pitching Poutine as a great comfort food to a local French baker in Poland. She speaks fluent English, Polish and French and holds a BFA in screenwriting from York University (Toronto). Her book credits include Tell Me What You See: Visual Writing Prompts for the Wandering Writer (One Idea Press) and a complementary guide to her blog, FitWise: Straight Talk About Being Fit & Healthy. Topperman has written a column for Huffington Post Canada and was the beauty editor for British MODE. For more information, please visit https://www.carolinetopperman.com/.