The Brighter I Shine
Kamee Abrahamian and Lusine Ghukasyan
Lantana

A young Armenian girl is celebrating her birthday and part of this celebration are the stories her mama tells her of how she came into the world – ‘a gift from our ancestors’ Mama says. As with many children, birthdays are a time for special baking and decorations. In this family though they are also a time for sharing stories about your homelands and ancestors. On this particular birthday the girl’s Mama recounts a story of how she felt their ancestral spirits filling the room as incense burned and her grandmother prayed for the infant’s safe arrival.

During their making of dough for mantuh (a traditional dumpling) there are further stories, one about a very old flour sifter carried from Beirut over the ocean by the child’s great grandma.

Others tell of the journeys of ancestors from homes they were forced to leave because of war.

With the aroma of dried herbs and cooking pervading the house, guests arrive and the birthday girl hears them talking of how they fear their stories and language will disappear now they are so far from their ancestral homes.

After everyone has left the girl discovers a card from her grandmother, containing a letter written in Armenian and as a result of her mama helping her to read it, she comes to see the family stories in a new light: ‘stories are like stars that I hold inside, so when I am in the dark and I feel lost, I can light my own way’ she tells readers.

After her narrative, the author has written a letter to readers in which she tells of her own Armenian ancestry, and offers some questions for exploration of their own history and ancestors.
Lusine Ghukasyan’s brightly hued scenes capture the joy of the birthday celebration and the girl’s connection to her family’s past beautifully. Altogether a moving book about discovering your identity through preserved memories and stories told by one’s ancestors.