Lisa
Voelker
Award-Winning Author—Historical Fiction
For over 50 years I've been collecting stories from strangers, friends, and family. Stories secreted away in memory, stories found in dusty attics, stories kept in journals and letters. My favorite projects are people-related.
“A story of courage, of loss, and endurance that will capture your heart."
The Spoon
This novel is as much a story as it is a historical account. What began as a peaceful protest turned into a revolution when a single shot rang out.
Follow the journey of two families unexpectedly united, their lives changed forever, thrown together in the maelstrom of the student protest which quickly devolved into what we now know today as the Hungarian Revolution.
Based on a true story and haunting memoirs of survivors. The Spoon is a story of survival and loss, and of a single, small spoon that, with time, came to symbolize a family’s will to survive. It is the timeless story of the struggle for freedom.
NEW REVIEW:
“The book contains a strong exposition of the sacrifices made for freedom and independence. The book also shows the strength and healthy culture of the Hungarians. I couldn't help but paint a picture of the scenes in my head as I read through the story, admiring the bond that exists amongst family, both nuclear and extended, the unity and cooperation among them, and above all, their unwavering quest for education. The author captured the emotions of her readers with her craftiness, correlating events that spark hope and pain. She developed characters so fitting for the events.” —C. Mgbeoji
Events & Updates
- GOETHE First Place Award for Late Historical Fiction 2023
- NIEA Award Winner
- Your History Your Story Podcast
- Please Help Us Congratulate Lisa's Debut Novel, The Spoon— Invited to Take Part in The Szabó Ervin Library's Budapest Big Novel Celebration 150th Anniversary of Budapest.
BUDAPEST
ANIMALS OF HUNGARY
PEOPLE OF THE HUNGARIAN REVOLUTION
CAMP KILMER
HUNGARIAN DESSERTS
Biography
LISA VOELKER was born and raised in the small seaside village of La Jolla, California. Many of her childhood summers were spent with her grandparents in rural New England where Lisa‘s mother, a teacher, fostered a lifelong love of history in her daughter. Throughout her life, Lisa has gathered stories from strangers, friends, and family. Occasionally, a truly remarkable story is brought to light. Such a story is the basis of Lisa’s first novel, The Spoon.
Lisa lives with her husband in the Pacific Northwest residing on the central coast where the rainforest is shrouded in the morning mist of the Pacific Ocean.
Readers Review-The Spoon
"The author was able to draw you into the character’s lives, under Soviet rule, leading up to and including the revolution. Her extensive research gave the reader the sense of being there with the characters. The book is relevant today, due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine." —P. Brollier
"This was a very well researched book and was evocative in that it brought to mind stories of my mother's life during the war years in Czecholovakia. Ms Voelker uses language beautifully to take the reader to the various places the characters went, and to get to know them each personally. Very well done." —E. Yuen
"Wonderful debut book. Not only completely readable but very informative and current, pertinent to our current geopolitical predicament. So compelling, I couldn’t put it down." —S. Garvey-Moran
“The book contains a strong exposition of the sacrifices made for freedom and independence. The book also shows the strength and healthy culture of the Hungarians. I couldn't help but paint a picture of the scenes in my head as I read through the story, admiring the bond that exists amongst family, both nuclear and extended, the unity and cooperation among them, and above all, their unwavering quest for education. The author captured the emotions of her readers with her craftiness, correlating events that spark hope and pain. She developed characters so fitting for the events.” —C. Mgbeoji