Author of THEY WERE LIKE FAMILY TO ME, a collection of linked stories illuminated with magical realism, following the inhabitants of a small town in 1942 Poland and tracing the troubling complex choices they are compelled to make. Finalist for The Story Prize and Honorable Mention in the 2017 ALA Sophie Brody Medal for achievement in Jewish Literature. Originally published as IN THE LAND OF ARMADILLOS. Columnist for the Jewish Standard.
The story materialized in my head a few days before Halloween, 2009. It’s World War 2. A gang of creatures, half man and half beast, attack a party of SS men executing a group of Jews. I imagined a pretty young girl stumbling over roots as German soldiers herded her toward a clearing in the... Continue Reading →
HELEN MARYLES SHANKMAN 