Dreams and Shadows

<I>Dreams and Shadows</I> is a story about the lives of people trapped in the oppressive reality of a totalitarian regime. This is Bulgaria a Balkan country which was overrun by the Red Army on September 9 1944 and became one of the satellites to the former USSR. It remained in the Soviet orbit of influence until November 10 1989. This is a story of lost futures struggles survival and quest for freedom; a journey along a road paved with broken dreams and dashed hopes. The story begins with a child's recollections: from the carpet bombings the capital city of Sofia was subjected to during 1943 and 1944 to the dramatic changes after September 9 1944 and how they affected the everyday lives of the people of Bulgaria. It also describes the hopes and disappointments of the people affected by the changes after 1989: the attempt to reconnect after a long separation with one's country of birth only to come to the realization that one does not belong there anymore yet is never really emotionally free from it.</p>