Remembering Pittsburgh Through Literature
By Sean Armstrong
Growing up, many people wonder what lives their parents had before they were born. However, few actually do the research to feed that very curiosity.
One author, Kathy Kasunick, a native Pittsburgher who recently moved to Williamsburg, Virginia, had a burning desire to know more about the lives of her parents, Mike and Helen. Her novel Always Remembering is a romantic historical work that explores, to the best of Kasunick’s knowledge, what the relationship her parents had must have been like before, during and immediately after World War 2.
As one might guess from the title, the book's central theme is memory, or as Kasunick puts it, “memories is the entire thing.” To understand why a bit of backstory is necessary.
Before smartphones and video calling became staples of modern life, letters were the main form of contact between people over vast distances, especially in times of war. And letters leave records, dated accounts of the people, places and things from a time period.
For Mike and Helen, Kathy’s parents and the main characters in the story, letters were all they had. So, the memory-themed book follows a three-act structure. Part one depicts the relationship before Mike is shipped off to war. Part two explores the war years and how their relationship persevered despite not hearing each other’s voice for what must have felt like an eternity. Part three is where everything comes together in their relationship when the war ends.
Make no mistake, this is a tale about more than just a relationship. Readers get to explore what it was like for Americans to live in World War 2, they get a picture of what Pittsburgh might have been like in those days and they even get a sprinkle of Polish heritage taught to them.
Kasunick researched everything down to the finest detail. She went to the Library of Congress, interviewed people who lived during that period and had diaries as well as letters to pore over. The author even included minute details like a heat wave that happened during one week in the time the novel takes place.
If none of that seemed impressive, then perhaps this next part will be. The Internment Camp that Mike’s 42nd Rainbow Division helped liberate, Dachau, where there is a plaque commemorating the soldiers, is a place that Kasunick physically went to gain insight for her work. There was no expense spared when it came to making the story as accurate as possible.
If nothing else, Always Remembering is thoroughly researched. Yet the author insists that for readers, “when you get to the end, that is when it really brings their whole life together,” and that is likewise where the story and everything that happens begins to make sense too.
This book may be just for those who begrudge current romance novels and long for a slow-burn relationship. In Kasunick’s own words, the book is “more of an intimate romance” than what a romance novel might be considered by today’s standards.
You can find out more about the book and get your copy here.
