Kharkiv, Ukraine — Folio Publishing House presents a new novel by Marina Borodina, Against the Wind — an intimate and inspiring story of love, strength, and gratitude, written entirely with her eyes through an eye-tracking device.
About the Author
Marina Borodina is a Ukrainian actress, TV presenter, and writer. A graduate of a prestigious acting school in Los Angeles, she worked in the United States before returning to Ukraine. In 2019, she was diagnosed with ALS, which has since paralyzed 70% of her body. Unable to write with her hands, she discovered a way to create through innovative Tobii Dynavox technology, which allows her to control a computer solely with her gaze.
Against the Wind was born from this extraordinary struggle and is already being hailed as a breakthrough in contemporary Ukrainian literature. Today, Marina continues to write, raise her two sons, support other patients, and prove that creativity transcends limitations — and that the will to live can overcome even the most difficult circumstances.
The novel blends fiction and autobiography: two parallel storylines — Marina’s own and that of Alex, an anthropologist and assault unit commander — gradually converge in a powerful climax. It is a journey through childhood, love, trials, illness, and hope, balancing between reality and fantasy. In the finale, the heroine considers a Neuralink implant, but an unexpected twist forces her to rethink the very meaning of life’s value.
“I didn’t write this book to tell a story about illness,” Marina shares. “I wanted to remind everyone: if your body works, you’ve already hit the jackpot. My story is about gratitude for even the simplest things.”
From the Author’s Preface
“I wrote this book with my heart. Not literally, of course — if that were so, it would be a medical journal, and I would be a revolutionary scientist, not a woman typing words with her eyes like a character from a science fiction novel.
Living with ALS, I discovered something unexpected: the body may give up, but the soul remains free. My body stopped cooperating long ago, but my humor stayed with me. So did my spirit. And my ability to notice beauty in the simplest things: a sunbeam through blinds, the laughter of my sons in the next room.
What I lost physically opened another kind of vision — an inner one. Life is worth living. Even sitting.
This book is not only about me. It is about you. About us. About how, even with the worst hand life can deal, one can still play beautifully — with humor, dignity, and a touch of drama.”
Audiobook Edition
Alongside the printed edition (1,000 copies), Folio is releasing an audiobook version of Against the Wind. It is voiced by acclaimed Ukrainian actress Rimma Zyubina and actor Roman Kulish. The recording was made at Orchestral Tower Production studio (co-founded by Orchestral Tower Production [Instagram: @orchestral_tower] and Ping-Pong Club Master [Instagram: @master_club_pingpong]), with sound director Ivan Horbachenko. The project’s producer and the voice of the main character is Rimma Zyubina, one of the most prominent actresses of contemporary Ukrainian theater and film and a laureate of the Kyiv Pectoral Award. Her voice brings unique depth and resonance to the novel.
Book Launch in Kharkiv
The official presentation of Against the Wind will take place on August 31 at 16:00 at the Yermilov Center (Kharkiv).
The event will be moderated by Oleksandr Krasovytskyi, Folio’s General Director and a renowned Ukrainian writer. Actress Rimma Zyubina will present the book, and the author, Marina Borodina, will join the event online. Journalists will have a unique opportunity to ask questions and receive direct answers from Marina during the live session.
Where to Buy
Against the Wind will be available for purchase at the presentation and online at the Folio website: folio.com.ua
Excerpt from the Book
“We drove through the streets of St. Gallen as if moving along the pages of a fairytale.
Behind us, the baroque spires of the abbey melted into the twilight, turning into silhouettes. Out of the corner of my eye, I glimpsed the Abbey Library — its windows glowed like the eyes of an old philosopher who had seen too much. The road gently descended toward Lake Constance. Vineyards along the roadside looked like brushstrokes of a painting.
Everything around was painfully beautiful, and within that perfection lay something cruel. Beauty, when you are in mourning, feels almost sadistic. It does not ask permission. It simply arrives. It blooms. And leaves you, carrying your grief like an overstaying guest.
The driver silently handed me tissues. Swiss hospitality at its finest. He dropped me off in a quiet place. No shops. No tourists. Only a narrow path, a cold stone bench, and a silver lake stretching toward Austria. I sat. Then I lay down, letting the cold seep into my bones.
The sky was already indigo, scattered with stars too far to touch. But I kept looking up. I always look up. Because the sky does not judge. It does not pity. It simply holds you. It reminds you that, even when everything falls apart, somewhere there is order. Somewhere there is wonder. There is breath.
I don’t know how long I lay there. Eventually, I got up, returned to the car, and quietly said: ‘To the hotel. But first… berries. Chocolate. Champagne.’”
