Helen Epstein: Writer and Time-Traveler

As a kid, I counted among my favorite books Pippi Longstocking and Harry Potter. At age 7, I wrote my first story, about a little girl who was adopted by a herd of speaking elephants. Now in college, I'm a creative writing major, and after graduation I'll probably live in a soggy refrigerator box writing more elephant stories.

However, as much I love reading and writing fiction, I've also become fascinated by the "truth" behind writing, as Lexington author and experienced journalist Helen Epstein calls it.

Originally from Prague, Epstein found her beginnings as a writer, and her love for truth, in journalism. During her childhood in Manhattan, "reading the Sunday Times was a serious family ritual." At age 20, Epstein found herself in the midst of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. Publishing her account of the invasion in a local paper, Epstein kicked off her journalism career. She graduated from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism and taught at New York University before relocating to the Boston area with her husband and children.

Hearing her parents' stories drove Epstein, the daughter of Holocaust survivors, to write the memoir Children of the Holocaust, which reflects on her experience growing up in a community touched by the tragedy. Writing the book made for a difficult emotional journey; Epstein said she "went straight into therapy" after finishing it.

Later on, Esptein wrote Where She Came From, exploring the stories of her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. To reconstruct a scene in the book, in which her mother first arrived in Auschwitz, Epstein traveled to Prague to interview her mother's best friend, Helena, and cousin, Kitty.

Both women told Epstein that, when Epstein's mother first found herself in Auschwitz, Kitty informed Epstein's mother that people were burned alive in the camp. Epstein's mother, refusing to believe it, thought Kitty had simply gone mad.

"Writers have always had a chance to rewrite history or create a new kind of history," Epstein said, noting the connection between history and memoir. "Memoirs, to my mind, are important tools for historians of all kinds, as well as a literary form in their own right."

Also having a special interest in women's role in history, Epstein mused, "things have changed so much that we forget how recently women became eligible to vote or go to law school or receive funding for athletic activities or join certain clubs." 

The author said her awareness of contemporary sexism stems from experiences writing freelance for the Sunday New York Times in the 1970s.

"Ninety-five percent of my assignments were about men," Epstein said. "All of my editors were men. They lacked interest in many subjects that attracted me as a female writer."

Epstein said she likes to write works that "create new cultural mirrors for women readers." With this in mind, her current work is a memoir called First Love, about how romantic love, sexual development, society and family all shaped her experience as an adolescent girl in the 1960s.

While she enjoys stepping into the past, Epstein also has a special investment in the future. While she mourns the decline in independent bookstores, Epstein is grateful for the increasing digitalization of books.

"I think the digital age for writers resembles the industrial revolution for weavers," she said, noting innovations like the Kindle, a digital reading device, make literature more accessible to readers and writers.

"My books have an international audience," Epstein said. "Kindle makes my writing available to anyone anywhere in the world." 

According to Epstein, going digital also makes life much less difficult for publishers, by cutting down on paper and shipping costs.

When asked what advice she might give to aspiring writers, Epstein said, "think hard and long about why and whether you want to be a writer." 

Pointing out the emotional and financial challenges, as well as the rewards, that come with the profession, Epstein encourages writers — and anyone, really — to reflect on their own "truth."

AROUND TOWN:

You can find live music at Lexington Center's Nourish restaurant on Sundays, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and Thursdays, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.; and at Concerts in the Park by the Hastings Park Bandstand on Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.

The Lexington Chamber of Commerce offers free Friday evening concerts in front of the Visitor's Center, through Aug. 27, with the likes of Alter Ego, Porch Rockers, Hanscom Air Force Base's Afterburner ensemble, Backburner, the Benjamin Road Band and Jumpin' Juba.

Lexington Youth Summer Theatre will perform "Grease" at Grace Chapel on Thursday, July 22 and Friday, July 23 at 7 p.m., and on Saturday, July 24 at 1 p.m. Boston's Yamaha Music School will give ensemble performances in Cary Memorial Hall on Sunday, July 20 at 12:30 and 3 p.m. Summer Youthstage Production will perform "Schoolhouse Rock" at Lexington's Pilgrim Church on Friday, July 23 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, July 24 from 2 to 4 p.m.

Cary Memorial Library is showcasing the artwork of Alessandro Alessandrini, Roy Hughes and Elizabeth Rozen through July 31. The National Heritage Museum is showing "Treasured Lands: the 58 U.S. National Parks in Focus," an exhibit of photographs by Quang-Tuan Luong, through Oct. 17.

An artisan sale and market, hosted by the Lexington Arts and Crafts Society, will be held including a tent and gallery sale on July 24 and a gallery sale July 26 to Aug. 21.