A Backpack, a Bear, and Eight Crates of Vodka: A Memoir

This memoir tells the compelling story of Lev Golinkin’s childhood escape from the collapsing Soviet Union and his later journey as an adult to trace his family's remarkable flight, reconnecting with those who helped save them. With wit and emotional honesty, Golinkin explores themes of survival, identity, and belonging against a backdrop of a tumultuous historical era. His narrative offers a vivid, darkly comic, and poignant portrait of a Jewish boy’s experience during the final days of the Soviet Union and the lasting impact of that time.