Born in Kladno, just outside Prague, Jaroslava Baconová started as a scholar of Czech language and literature. She moved to Canada in 2001 and carried her love for her country into her new expatriate home. Now based in British Columbia, she has taught Czech in Prague, Glasgow, and eventually across Canada. For her, literature is not just a collection of books, but the connections and life stories they represent: stories of their protagonists, their authors, and their readers. She is excited to share these stories with you and to provide keys to better understanding the people whose destinies shaped the landscapes of Central Europe through which we will be travelling.