Best Friends Worlds Apart

Nineteen eighty-nine was a pivotal moment in the lives of these two women who, despite the Cold War between the USSR and the United States, met and became best friends. They were worlds apart in history, culture, religion, and their everyday lives, but yet destined to come together at just the right moment, dodging and twisting through the politics of both countries, which threatened to keep them apart. Their story begins when Stanislava (Stassya) arrives in San Francisco from Leningrad (St. Petersburg) Russia, with 25 high school students for a homestay visit. Eight months later, Gayle escorts a group of adults and high school students for an eye-opening homestay in Leningrad. After becoming best friends, Gayle and Stassya plan a return visit to California for Stassya and her ten-year-old daughter Helen, which is threatened by the fearful and unpredictable changes happening in Russia at the time. This book depicts the account of the tears, frustration, hopes, laughter, and fears, of a friendship that would not accept being kept worlds apart nor crumble from the agony of being forced to make major life-changing decisions-with no looking back.