This past weekend, Netherhill’s own Roxana Spicer captivated a full house with standing-room-only in Kindersley, Saskatchewan, as she promoted her new book, The Traitor's Daughter. The book masterfully recounts a daughter's decades-long journey to understand the extraordinary life of her mother, Agnes Spicer, who was born in Lenin's Soviet Union, served as a combat soldier in the Red Army, and survived three years of Nazi captivity—though she kept her darkest secrets hidden.
Growing up, Roxana Spicer’s childhood was marked by mysteries. She recalls waking to the sounds of the Red Army Choir playing late at night and tiptoeing downstairs to find her mother, cigarette in one hand and a Black Russian in the other, singing along. Roxana would sit with her, filled with questions she couldn't yet ask.
While the villagers knew Agnes was Russian and had been held captive by the Nazis during World War II, that was where the story ended. Agnes kept her past tightly guarded, never revealing how she escaped Germany, what the tattoo on her arm signified, or even her true name. These secrets haunted Roxana and became the driving force behind her quest for the truth.
Through a career as a journalist and documentarian, Roxana sought answers, using every free moment to question her mother and visit places linked to her story—concentration camps, German towns that housed POW slave labourers, and Russia itself. Under changing regimes from Gorbachev to Putin, she managed to unearth documents and meet people who played roles in her mother’s life—clues that are now, perhaps, lost to history.
The Traitor’s Daughter blends Roxana’s personal biography with sweeping historical events, offering readers a rich, intimate portrait of her mother’s harrowing life. The book is a true labour of love, reflecting not only Roxana’s investigative tenacity but also the fiery and irrepressible spirit of Agnes Spicer herself.
Roxana Spicer grew up in the small community of Netherhill, Saskatchewan, with a population of just 80. Over her distinguished 40-year career, she has traveled the world as a documentary filmmaker and former CBC investigative journalist, covering stories from the remote jungles of Ecuador to the deserts of Arabia. Despite her vast career, her most elusive subject remained her mother.
Roxana now lives in Toronto but continues to be deeply connected to her Saskatchewan roots, as shown by her triumphant return to Kindersley for this emotional and highly anticipated book launch.