In February 2022, as the Beijing Winter Olympics came to a close, Russian forces massed along Ukraine’s borders. Western intelligence warned an invasion was imminent; Moscow denied it. Inside Ukraine, people went to work. My ex-girlfriend, who grew up in the Donbas, told me the warnings were political theater. In the same week, Vladimir Putin met Xi Jinping in Beijing and announced a partnership with “no limits.” Days later, Russian armor crossed the border.

I answered the call to fight in Ukraine. I write about that decision and what followed in my memoir, War Tourist , which is represented by Writers House in New York. That month was personal in other ways as well: the woman I once called the love of my life ended things via WhatsApp. It was an ordinary, small cruelty layered on top o

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