Bulletproof Heart was first published in 2014. A recent revision was made in 2024. This story began as a way for me to understand my family’s complex history.

My Family’s Story

When I was born my parents gave me the last name Tietke. I grew up understanding that my maternal side descended from Irish heritage. On my paternal side, I believed that my father was a third-generation German/Ukranian-American. When I was sixteen years old, the same year my great-grandmother died, I learned that my grandfather was my dad’s stepfather. I discovered that my father actually held Irish and English heritage. My entire childhood was clothed in my German Heritage. This misunderstanding of identity was not my father’s fault. He did not know that his “stepfather” was not his dad until he was 16. As I grew older and understood that the identity I grew up with was not my blood, it became very confusing for me when people would ask about my heritage. It began to feel like a lie when I would discuss my grandfather. The only grandfather I ever knew.

The Ukranain/Russian Heritage

As a child, my family never discussed our Ukrainian heritage. I knew my great-grandmother, but who was the man she married. It wasn’t until I was a child that I started asking questions about my great-grandfather. What I discovered was an amazing story that I had to share. My great-grandfather was born on January 21, 1899. He was born in present-day Ukraine to a family of wealthy landowners. His one parent was German and his other parent was Russian. When he was a teenager the Ukrainian War of Independence began. At one point his family was sent to Siberian labor camps. During the journey, his youngest sister fell ill and was thrown from the train. My great-grandfather eventually left or escaped the camps and the story says that he had to travel through the Ural Mountains and eventually found his way to Germany. While in Germany that is where he met my great-grandmother. By 1920 they made their way to Hoboken, New Jersey.

Reflected in Bulletproof Heart

My heritage, and the generational trauma it caused my father and me are reflected in my debut novel, Bulletproof Heart. The novel is not a memoir. It is historical fiction. The story has a small hint of my great-grandfather’s journey, but the story is in no way meant to be his story, or mine, or my father’s. It was written as a way for me to understand my family’s story. It started with interviews of my family members and ended with the story of Lena and Ant.

Bulletproof Heart is a story about secrets. Secrets that are meant to protect a family end up hurting the very people the secret is meant to protect.