Award-winning Globe and Mail journalist Janice Dickson provides a vital new lens on the ongoing war in Ukraine through the gripping firsthand accounts of women—soldiers, teachers, mothers, and many more—across the country.

On February 24, 2022, hell arrived on Ukraine’s doorstep: Russia had launched a full-scale invasion of the country, sending missiles crashing into homes and armed soldiers pouring across the border to take up illegal occupation. But as the world watched in horror, Ukrainians remained defiant—and the spirit of that defiance is wholly embodied by the women of Ukraine.

Over the course of more than half a dozen reporting trips to Ukraine, Globe and Mail journalist Janice Dickson met those who joined the military and took up combat positions, civilians who worked to disrupt Russian advances while living under occupation, and those who continued to fight for freedom in all kinds of ways, despite enduring heartbreaking loss.

Dickson travelled extensively throughout the country and spoke with dozens of women, meeting combat medics near the front line in Kharkiv, teachers in an underground school in Zaporizhzhia, and a woman demining a village outside of Kyiv. She met others in their homes, cafes, or the apartment she rented in Kyiv. Many spoke for hours, recounting harrowing frontline battle scenes or the measures they took to protect their families during the early days of the full-scale invasion.

These are the stories of women risking their own lives to save their children, their families, their neighbours, and even perfect strangers. These are the stories of female soldiers, but also of ordinary people who exhibited extraordinary courage and resilience. These are mothers, daughters, sisters, and grandmothers. Their remarkable stories span more than three years of war and come together to form a gripping account of bravery and humanity.