The Silence that Remains by Meg Wingerter

From Paris to Siberia, Author’s Debut Explores Memory, Morality, and What It Costs to Remain Human During Stalin’s Reign of Terror

Traverse City, MI—Meg Wingerter, a health reporter by day, relies on research, scientific journals, and vetted studies to develop her work. So she was a bit taken aback when a dream presented characters that led to her debut work of fiction, The Silence That Remains, Mission Point Press, (March 24, 2026), a sweeping tale of Stalin’s Russia that is both harrowing and hopeful.

The Silence that Remains

The novel follows Annushka, a young woman from a Ukrainian village destroyed by famine, who lives a quiet and compliant life. When the Nazi invasion forces her east, she meets others who share her disillusionment: a fallen ballerina bound to a powerful man and a soldier scarred by the Gulag. Together, they begin to speak the truths they’ve buried—until Stalin’s regime reminds them that in Russia, even words can kill. Sweeping from Paris to Siberia, this historical epic explores memory, morality, and what it costs to remain human when silence is the only way to survive.

Bringing Dreams to Life

“Several characters came to me in a dream; based on the fashions and architecture, I sensed it was the 1940s somewhere behind the Iron Curtain. I began by putting them in a non-specific location but didn’t like what was developing. That’s when I pivoted to my background of research, which eventually inspired the specific location and some of the minor characters, while the major characters remained completely fictional,” Wingerter said. “As I played with the plot and perspectives, those characters took shape almost like they were real people that I was getting to know.”

Exploring outcomes for her characters facing the ravages of war, corruption, and exploitation with courage and wit, Wingerter realized the book wasn’t so much about what happened to them but rather about what they did with their trauma and who it made them. “I hope readers come to understand what it means to be powerless under a totalitarian regime, and the courage to keep going,” she shared.

Looking forward, Wingerter anticipates eventually visiting the real-life locales for her fictional characters and contemplates her nearly half-dozen ideas for future novels.

Advance Praise

Advance praise for The Silence That Remains from Alex Miller, author of Osama Bin Laden is Dead:

“Unforgettable. The Silence That Remains is deeply researched and powerfully written. A terrifying vision of a time when dreams of a better world were twisted into nightmares.”

Author, Meg Wingerter

The Author

Meg Wingerter began writing The Silence That Remains right out of college, armed with little more than a pen, a notebook, and a library card. Eight years, five jobs, four states, and one pandemic later, her fascination with early Soviet history became her debut novel. A health reporter for The Denver Post, she has also written for The Oklahoman, The Topeka Capital-Journal, The Muskegon Chronicle, and The (Lancaster) Sunday News. She lives in the Denver area with her husband, Justin, and their daughter, Claire, and was once named Michigan Press Association’s top columnist—besting Mitch Albom—for her writing at The Muskegon Chronicle.

The Book

The Silence That Remains

Meg Wingerter

354 pages, 6” x 9”, B/W

FICTION Literary/Historical World War I World Literature

ISBN: 978-1-968761-09-7, $24.95 (Hardcover)

ISBN: 978-1-968761-10-3, $18.95 (Softcover)

Mission Point Press, March 24, 2026

Copies are available for preorder at Amazon and other online retailers. On its March 24, 2026, publication date, it will be available for purchase wherever books are sold. For information or to arrange for signings and events, contact the author at meghart6@gmail.com or visit megwingerter.com for more information.

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