Nothing But White Ash
By Boni Wagner-Stafford
A sweeping historical family saga of love, loss, and the unbreakable will to survive.
Perfect for fans of The Nightingale, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, and All the Light We Cannot See.
Russia, 1917.
Florian Wagner is still a boy when revolution tears through his Volga German village. As civil war, famine, and persecution by the Bolsheviks upend his world and he grows into a man, Florian must make an unthinkable choice: leave behind the woman he loves—or risk both their lives.
Canada, 1920s.
Half a world away, on the cold prairies of Saskatchewan, Florian fights to build a new life. Haunted by the violence he fled and the love he lost, he enters into a marriage of duty—but his heart never leaves Russia. As war brews again in Europe, long-buried secrets rise from the ashes and threaten to consume everything he’s built.
Based on a true story, Nothing But White Ash traces one family’s desperate escape from war-torn Russia and their fight to survive as immigrant settlers in early 20th-century Canada. Spanning decades and continents, this deeply moving novel explores the enduring bonds of family, the weight of generational trauma, and the hope that can grow from the most barren soil.
This unforgettable historical fiction novel explores:
- The persecution of Volga Germans during the Russian Revolution
- Immigration and survival on the Canadian prairie
- Love torn apart by war and betrayal
- A man’s lifelong search for redemption and belonging
- Forgotten history brought to life with emotional depth and authenticity
“My heart broke for the lost love of Florian and Lili and for all the times the family had to start over anew because of turmoil not just in Russia, but also in Canada where they settled. It is also a good source of information about the struggle of the German people who were invited to Russia and then despised and ultimately sent to Siberia, their homes and villages destroyed. This book is one of the best that I have read about the Volga Germans and their descendants. I would give this book a 5-star rating. Boni Wagner-Stafford did an outstanding job on her research and storyline. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to review this book."
CLAUDIA RUEB
Descended from Volga German ancestors (Straub, 1913)
“Nothing But White Ash is a stirring trip into the German experience in Russia and Canada. I am a fourth generation German here in the United States and after reading this I wonder if my father and grandparents experienced any of the discrimination Florian and family experienced. Though I thought this to be a work of historical fiction, it was more profound to learn that it was biographical as well. Very moving, very powerful. As a writer, I especially appreciated your prose, the almost lyrical way you described settings, people, etc. It motivates me to explore doing that in what I write.
SHARON HERRICK
Writer
It was like his brain was trying to figure out what to shut out to protect him from the thoughts that swirled in his head. That he’d been selfish, selfish, selfish in shutting out Liliya, leaving her behind, leaving Russia. If only he hadn’t gone to Novorossiysk in 1921, but had stayed behind, with Liliya. If only he’d listened in 1924 when she wanted to explain what happened, instead of assuming she had betrayed him.
It’s all my fault. Florian could see no way out of the truth before him. If he had stayed, everything would have been different. If he had listened, everything would have been different. Liliya wouldn’t be who-knew-where, freezing in a gulag somewhere, starving, or … dead.
And then his brain would turn to sludge again, getting in the way of his here-and-now chores, his here-and-now children, who he desperately wanted to shield from what was going on with him. How would they ever respect him if they knew what he’d done? What he hadn’t done?
—Boni Wagner-Stafford, Nothing But White Ash
About Boni
Boni Wagner-Stafford is the cofounder and publisher of Ingenium Books, a Canadian-based hybrid press with a global perspective.
A former journalist, she spent nearly 15 years reporting on people, poverty, policy, privilege, and politics—work that cemented her belief in the civic power of storytelling.
Her award-nominated nonfiction and fiction explore themes of belonging, resilience, and human connection. Her newest book, Nothing But White Ash, is a work of historical fiction inspired by her grandfather’s escape from persecution in Russia and his search for safety in Canada.
Boni grew up moving every 18–24 months across Canada, a childhood defined by constant uprooting and the uneasy experience of being the perpetual “new girl.” Her lived understanding of disconnection—and her family’s intergenerational migration story—shapes the heart of Ingenium Books’ publishing mission: to champion stories that build bridges, widen empathy, and strengthen the threads that bind us together.
She currently lives and writes in Mexico. And it is quite possible she is addicted to kittens.
Are you a journalist, writer, or podcaster interested
in interviewing Boni Wagner-Stafford about her book?
Belonging has shaped my family’s story for generations. My grandfather fled persecution in Russia and arrived in Canada with little more than determination and the hope of a safer life. Decades later, I grew up moving across this country every couple of years—Regina, Kelvington, Fort St. John, Port Hardy, Duncan, Kamloops, Cranbrook, Victoria, Edmonton, Vancouver, Toronto—always adapting, always starting again, always feeling a few steps outside of belonging.
This book was born from those intertwined stories: my grandfather's and mine.
As I wrote Nothing But White Ash, I realized how deeply the search for belonging weaves through families, through nations, and through time. It is the thread that ties my grandfather’s escape to my own childhood, to my years as a journalist, and to my work as a publisher.
This novel is an act of remembering—and an act of connection. My hope is that it helps you reflect on your own roots, your own journeys, and the stories that live beneath the stories you tell.
Thank you for opening these pages.
—Boni Wagner-Stafford
Available now in eBook and paperback. Audiobook coming soon!
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