"I considered my heart a traitor for continuing to beat -" no surprise that the line has struck a chord in others, and you'd written it and read it publicly long before the words resonated here at Steeemit. You have so, so, so many stories to tell! Have you read @tygertyger's family history? Somehow I sense you both have something in common as writers - a sense of history, family, place, passion, and culture - hers may be mostly Russian, partly Czech, but nationality isn't the common element. The gift of story is.