Preserving Communist Romania Through Fiction with Tudor Alexander

What stories get lost when history is only told by the winners, or by those who left before the hardest parts happened?Tudor Alexander is a Romanian-born novelist and author of seven published novels, four in the U.S., focused on immigrants and the experience of leaving home for a new language and culture. His recent novels, The Last Patient and In Darkness and Light, explore life in pre- and post-WWII communist Romania, drawing on his grandmother's memories, his mother-in-law's deportation during WWII, and his own immigration to the U.S. nearly 50 years ago.In this episode, Tudor shares why he chose communist Romania as the backdrop for his novels, how much of his work is rooted in real family history versus research, and what he discovered about resilience, love, and ordinary life persisting even under political oppression. He also reflects on his own immigrant experience and why he believes these overlooked stories still matter today.WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT:Preserving family memory through historical fictionLife in pre- and post-WWII communist RomaniaHow authoritarian regimes shape families across generationsBalancing historical accuracy with storytellingHis own immigration story and what he left behindWhy family sagas are such a powerful lens for historyCONNECT WITH TUDOR ALEXANDER:Website: linked on his profileFacebook: linked on his profile