Dunwoody resident writes book to preserve Russian family history

David Lyalin, a longtime Dunwoody resident and immigrant from the former Soviet Union, has compiled his family stories into a book to educate and inspire future generations.

“Tales of a Grandfather Who Once Upon a Time Was a Grandson Himself,” written in both Russian and English, is a collection of family stories, published by Sandermoen Publishing in Switzerland. Lyalin, who works as a public health analyst at the CDC, is a first-time author.

“I originally wrote it for my grandchildren – but the project grew into something much larger: a way to preserve family memory across languages, continents, and generations,” Lyalin said. “The stories span the Russian Empire and Soviet history, immigration, family loss and love, and the connections that survive across time and place – told with warmth, humor, and reflection.”

Lyalin said his desire to compile his family’s memories emerged during the pandemic, when his daughter and other relatives were scattered across the world.

“I found myself wanting to share with them stories, not just bedtime tales, but something deeper: the kind of stories that connect us to the past, to each other, and to the generations we never knew,” he said. “So I began writing.”

The stories were written in Russian at first because it was the language of Lyalin’s childhood, his parents and grandparents. But since his grandchildren don’t speak Russian, he wanted to translate the tales so they could share in their family history. It took him a year to complete.

“Translating my own stories from Russian to English was harder than writing them in the first place,” he said. “There’s a line from Russian poetry: ‘To tears, to veins, to childhood’s swollen glands’ — that’s how deeply a native language lives in us.”

The stories are not only personal in nature, but they are also historical, not in a textbook form, but history “told in kitchens and tramcars, playgrounds and hospital rooms,” Lyalin said. “In them are the small, living truths of what it meant to be a Jew in the Soviet Union – what it meant to leave, what it means to remember.”

David Lyalin, born in Leningrad, immigrated to the United States in 1990 as part of a Jewish refugee program, along with his wife and nine-year-old daughter. He said the lack of religious and political freedom in Russia drove him from his native country.

He said his now-92-year-old mother was a source of inspiration and information for the book.

“She remembers a lot of things from the past that I never knew,” Lyalin said. “Although the book is dedicated to my grandchildren, I wrote it in large part for my mother. Because this book – and every story in it – means infinitely more to her than to anyone else, simply because they were written by me, her son.”

Lyalin said his mother was on his mind during the entire writing and editing process.

“She, with the endless patience of an old school teacher, listened to me read the drafts over the phone and, as always, firmly and wisely guided me in the right direction,” he said.

Lyalin said his book has resonated with both his Russian family and his American friends.

“To my surprise, the book has found resonance not only within my family, but far beyond it. Russian-speaking readers have told me it reminds them of people and moments they had forgotten,” he said. “English-speaking readers have said it opened a window to a world they had only heard about.”

Lyalin’s book, “Tales of a Grandfather” is available in paperback and as an e-book through Sandermoen Publishing. A short video Lyalin produced about the book can be found on Facebook.

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