From the Ridges of Karelia

Seija Kaarina Cleverley is the daughter of Karelian parents who lost their home to the Russians twice during the Second World War. She was born in the worst of circumstances in a world of war and turmoil. But from there the story she tells in From the Ridges of Karelia unfolds in love and blessings. In Finnish, her parents and grandparents would say, “Menemme Harmaan Kiven Läpi!” (“We will go through a grey stone!” They meant it, and that is what they often did. They were heroes willing to sacrifice anything so she would never experience the tragedies they went through and would reap the blessings and love they also knew. If she had made a list of her dreams when just a girl, it would have looked much like the last half of her story. Dreams can come true. As refugees, she grew up in Lahti, Finland. After marrying an American “cowboy” (that’s what she called him), she raised four children as the spouse of a senior American diplomat. For over 30 years they moved from country to country immersed in the enthralling life in the American Foreign Service… as “nomads.” Read more