Undercover Reporter

“I thought it was important to write the book because of what is happening in Ukraine,” says Sonya Zalubowski of her memoir. (Image courtesy of Sonya Zalubowski)

In 1981, as the Solidarity labor movement was gaining traction in Poland, Sonya Zalubowski, MS ’78 MEDIA, took a leave of absence from the Associated Press and moved to Warsaw, Poland, where, posing as a student at age 37, she reported on the hardships that Poles were experiencing, risking her personal safety to smuggle stories back to the U.S. Her new memoir, Eye on Solidarity: Reporting a Turning Point in Poland—and Finding My Roots (Associated Press, 2023), enlivens journalism with the dramatic tension of a suspense novel.

What prompted you to write this book?
I thought it was important to write the book because of what is happening in Ukraine. When authoritarianism is once again challenging democracy, I wanted to show, with the Polish example during Solidarity, how powerful individual voices can be when they unify. The independent Polish movement is credited with the ultimate unraveling of the Soviet Union.

Smuggling stories illegally, trading money on the black market while living in a police state—did you ever feel comfortable working in Poland?
No. I found my own new normal—to be at ease with not being at ease. There was always the feeling that “they” were aware of you—whoever they were.

Was it a challenge to incorporate your personal experience into a larger historical narrative?
It was difficult for me because I’ve always been a reporter; I was used to presenting facts. I had to dig pretty deep to unearth the personal angle and share it.