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 was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, and as a young child lived for a couple of years in Kelvington, near her grandfather Florian Wagner — the main character in her latest novel, Nothing But White Ash. Just before her fifth birthday, her family moved to British Columbia.
There was a lot of moving as she grew up, and this turned into a strong wanderlust into adulthood. So far, she has lived in more than twenty different cities/towns in Canada, Mexico, and France. She spent three years living full-time on her sailboat, s/v Ingenium, in no small part because she could keep moving without packing the whole house. Perhaps this wanderlust, this search for a place to belong, has also been handed down from her grandfather.
Boni is cofounder and publisher at Ingenium Books. She hascoached more than three dozen authors and writers, helping them start, develop, polish, and then publish their manuscripts. Many have won awards, two have been Wall Street Journal bestsellers. She’s host of the Ingenium Books podcast, and in a past life was an award-winning Canadian journalist, TV news anchor, and talk show host.
She lives in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, with her husband John and their four cats. It is possible she is addicted to kittens.
Are you a journalist, writer, or podcaster interested
in interviewing Boni Wagner-Stafford about her book?
Approximately one million ethnic Germans died in Russia and the Soviet Union between 1915 and 1949. In each decade of this time period, the deaths of between one quarter and one third of the total ethnic-German population were caused byRussian/Soviet authorities.I have tried to be true to the historical facts and for the most part I’m confident that I’ve succeeded. Any errors are mine and mine alone. I have, however, taken creative license with certain facts. I hope family members will forgive me for choices I made to alter some personal details. I have been able to verify most—but not all—of the information that has been passed down to descendants of both my grandfather Florian and his brother Clem.
—Boni Wagner-Stafford, Nothing But White Ash
Coming October 29, 2025 in ebook, paperback, and audiobook
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