My grandmother and her mother Berta, whose grave I now visit and take care of. Courtesy of Mikhail Khandros

The store in the center of Chernobyl, which took the place of the house where my father was born. Courtesy of Mikhail Khandros

My grandparents in the 1950’s — shortly after they were married. Courtesy of Mikhail Khandros

My grandparents dressed up for a stroll in Chernobyl’s central park in the 1950’s. Photo by Mikhail Khandros

My grandparents, father and their friend playing by the Pripyat. Photo by Anna Khandros

My grandmother’s father, Shmul Perepechay, whose name is listed on a monument to fallen soldiers in the central park. He died shortly after the start of the war. Courtesy of Anna Khandros

My grandmother Mira walking my aunt Lena to school on her first day of first grade, 1975. This is on the main street, which was known as Lenina Street (Spasskaya Street before the 1920’s). Courtesy of Mikhail Khandros

My grandmother, Mira, overlooking the Pripyat. Courtesy of Anna Khandros

My grandmother Mira and her mother Berta in the garden, early 1970s. This is where I walk around looking for anything my family might have left behind. Courtesy of Mikhail Khandros

My grandmother with friends by the Pripyat in the 1960’s. Courtesy of Mikhail Khandros

A photo from the 1960’s of my grandfather’s mother, Rahil (Raya) Kaleka, who was an elementary school teacher. Courtesy of Mikhail Khandros

My grandfather’s mother Raya, dressed in black in the 1920’s or ’30s, a glimpse of a lost Yiddish culture. Courtesy of Mikhail Khandros

My grandfather with his mom, Rahil Kaleka, after they returned from evacuation in modern-day Russia. Courtesy of Mikhail Khandros

My grandfather playing the accordion in the 1960’s. Courtesy of Mikhail Khandros

My father’s 1974 high school graduation. Courtesy of Anna Khandros

My father at age 5, fetching water for the house in which he was born. Courtesy of Anna Khandros

My father playing piano for his classmates in the family house in 1974. Courtesy of Anna Khandros

My father Slava in 1970 in front of the house my grandfather Mikhael built in the 1960s, standing on the sandy streets which my grandfather told me about. Standing behind him is Boris Perepechay, my grandmother Mira’s cousin. Courtesy of Mikhail Khandros

My father as a boy in front of the house where he was born. Photo by Mikhail Khandros

May holidays celebrated with friends in the backyard of the family house, early 1980s. Courtesy of Mikhail Khandros