A tale of a young girl losing her slipper sounds so familiar.This dystopian fantasy is not that tale.Alexandra Victorovna—Sasha—grew up knowing the importance of being neither seen nor heard. Hidden in her parents' utilitarian apartment, where defiant conversations are whispered through stapled mouths, Sasha's only glimpses of the outside world are through the heavy blinds on the windows . . . and in Biblioteka, the hidden library within the walls.Until, one day, her father breaks the rules and takes her outdoors: a momentous act with enthralling and horrific repercussions.As the freedom they'd dared to hope for fades into the grays of yet more servitude, Sasha's idyllic childhood takes a brutal, bloody, and chilling turn into womanhood. In this dark post soviet fantasy, where the walls have ears and books are forbidden, Sasha's family and their secret dreams are ground under the wheels of a power that seems to engulf everyone and everything it touches.Out of Oblivion: How I Left OB-LOM takes us on Sasha's incredible journey to escape the depths of despair, where life has little value and even her once-beloved letters and words seem to lose their meaning. But the hopes and dreams of a beloved childhood steeped in forbidden knowledge are not so easily crushed—if Sasha can hold on to the one thing her government is intent on stripping away.This highly imaginative, thought-provoking illustrated fantasy novel reminds readers that some books have the power to help and to heal—as do unexpected friendships—and that through the darkest of times, the dreams of a child can lead us all to miraculous new worlds.About the AuthorKristina Birk is a Ukrainian-born American writer, producer, and performer. Her most recent work includes two short films, a post-apocalyptic fantasy feature, and a dystopian pod play developed with Westward Orphans Productions in Los Angeles. This is her first novel.