Vitaliy Popovych
What if the most painful chapter of your life could become the beginning of something completely new?
For Vitaliy Popovych, author of Ashes to Iron, that question is more than a philosophical idea. It is the foundation of his deeply personal book about healing after divorce, overcoming adversity, forgiveness and rebuilding your life.
Speaking on the PublishU Podcast, Vitaliy shared the extraordinary journey that led him to write a book he never originally intended to publish. His story is one of profound loss and transformation — and a reminder that adversity does not necessarily have to be the end of your story.
Originally from Ukraine and now living in London, Vitaliy has always had a connection with writing. He began his literary journey with poetry and has three poetry publications across three countries. Later, he turned to prose as a way of exploring his thoughts and internal dialogue more deeply.
Writing, he explains, has always anchored him to his identity.
Yet Ashes to Iron was not the book he expected to write. Vitaliy already had a novel in draft form, but when his personal life was turned upside down, another story took priority.
As he describes it, Ashes to Iron “jumped the queue.”
Following a devastating betrayal and divorce, Vitaliy found himself facing a period of profound adversity. His life, as he had known it, was effectively dismantled. He had to reconsider who he was, where he was going and what his future would look like.
Out of that experience came the book he wished he had possessed when he was going through his darkest days.
Ashes to Iron is partly autobiographical, but Vitaliy deliberately combines his real-life story with a fictional approach to presenting the non-fictional material. The result is both a personal account and what he describes as almost a manual for moving forward.
The book explores the path he personally followed to heal, recover, rebuild and transform his life.
Vitaliy draws on areas including psychology and neuroscience, alongside his own experiences, to explore what happens when someone is forced to reconstruct their life after devastating personal circumstances.
One of the central themes is forgiveness.
Rather than suggesting that forgiveness is simple, Vitaliy acknowledges how difficult it can be. When someone has experienced profound betrayal or hurt, the idea of simply forgiving can seem impossible.
His approach begins with a decision.
According to Vitaliy, the process involves consciously deciding to forgive and then following that decision with verbal affirmation. He connects this process with the brain's ability to gradually rewire itself around new patterns of thinking.
For him, forgiveness became an important part of moving from pain towards healing.
Perhaps the most powerful message behind Ashes to Iron is that what happens to you does not have to determine where your life ends.
Vitaliy encourages readers to consider adversity not simply as something that destroys, but as an opportunity to reconsider and rebuild.
When life is comfortable, starting again can seem almost impossible. People become accustomed to their routines, identities and circumstances. But profound trauma can force a person to reconsider everything.
That was certainly true for Vitaliy.
He describes completely rewiring his mindset, changing his habits, developing a different sense of self-esteem and even experiencing a significant change in his identity.
In other words, he did not simply survive his circumstances. He allowed the experience to change the person he became.
Although Ashes to Iron was inspired by Vitaliy's own experience, its message extends beyond divorce or relationship breakdown.
Anyone who has experienced profound loss, betrayal or adversity may recognise the feeling of having to begin again from the ground up.
Vitaliy's message is simple: it is not where your story ends; it is where your story starts.
The past cannot necessarily be changed. But the way we interpret it, respond to it and build from it can change.
For Vitaliy, publishing Ashes to Iron represents the culmination of a journey he never expected to take. What began as personal pain has become a book through which he hopes to help others — particularly men — heal, recover and rebuild after adversity.
And perhaps that is the greatest transformation of all: turning ashes into something stronger.
Ashes to Iron by Vitaliy Popovych is a deeply personal exploration of healing, forgiveness, resilience and starting over after adversity — a reminder that sometimes the chapter we think has destroyed our story can become the chapter where a new one begins.
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