Helen Epstein

American writer of memoir, journalism and biography

For the author and scientist, see Helen Epstein (journalist).

Helen Epstein

Helen Epstein in 2016

Born|  (1947-11-27) November 27, 1947 (age 77)
Prague, Czechoslovakia
Occupation| Writer of memoir, biography, and journalism
Nationality| American
Education| Hunter College High School, Hebrew University, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Notable works| Children of the Holocaust
Spouse| Patrick Mehr (m 1983)
Children| Daniel Mehr, Samuel Mehr
Website
www.helenepstein.com

Helen Epstein (born November 27, 1947) is an American writer of memoir, journalism and biography. Born in Czechoslovakia, she lives in Lexington, Massachusetts, United States.

## Biography

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### Early life and education

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Helen Epstein is the daughter of Kurt Epstein and Franci Rabinek, both survivors of Nazi concentration camps.[1] She was born in Prague in November 27, 1947, grew up in New York City, and graduated from Hunter College High School, Hebrew University,[2] and the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism.[3]

### Career

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She became a journalist at the age of 20, while caught in the Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia. Her account was published in the Jerusalem Post and she has been a journalist ever since.[3] Her articles and reviews have appeared in many major American publications and include profiles of art historian Meyer Schapiro[4] and musicians Vladimir Horowitz and Leonard Bernstein.[5]

Helen Epstein is the author, co-author, translator or editor of ten books of narrative non-fiction including the non-fiction trilogy Children of the Holocaust, Where She Came From: A Daughter’s Search for Her Mother’s History and The Long Half-Lives of Love and Trauma; and Joe Papp: An American Life, the biography of a theater producer . She translated Heda Kovaly’s Under a Cruel Star, Paul Ornstein’s Looking Back: Memoir of a Psychoanalyst,[6] and the tribute anthology Archivist on a Bicycle.[7]''The Long Half-Lives of Love and Trauma was published in English and Czech in 2018.[8] In 2020, she published her late mother's memoir as Franci's War and in 2022, her cancer memoir Getting Through It.

She was the first tenured woman journalism professor in New York University (1981) and taught about 1000 students over 12 years.[9] She guest lectures extensively at universities, libraries and religious institutions in North America and abroad.[10]

## Works

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* Children of the Holocaust. Penguin Books. ISBN 0140112847
* Music Talks. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0070195447
* Where She Came from: A Daughter's Search for Her Mother's History. Little Brown & Co. ISBN 0316246085
* The Companies She Keeps. Plunkett Lake Press. ISBN 0961469609
* Joe Papp. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0316246042
* Écrire la vie. La Cause des Livres. ISBN 2917336072
* Un athlète juif dans la tourmente. La Cause des Livres. ISBN 2917336196
* Under a Cruel Star. Holmes & Meier Publishers. ISBN 0841913773
* Acting in Terezín. Plunkett Lake Press.
* Looking Back: Memoir of a Psychoanalyst. Plunkett Lake Press. ISBN 0961469633
* Archivist on a Bicycle. Plunkett Lake Press.
* Franci's War. Penguin
* Getting Through It: My Year of Cancer during Covid Plunkett Lake Press

## References

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1. ^ Alan Levy (July 27, 1994). "Helen Epstein: Growing Up Czech in New York". The Prague Post. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
2. ^ "Helen Epstein". American Friends of the Hebrew University. afhu.org. 5 September 2017.
3. ^ a b Epstein, Helen (1968). "Tears in Prague" (PDF).
4. ^ Landi, Ann (2007). "A Modernist Manifesto". ARTNews.
5. ^ Ross, Michael (1987). "Music Talks". The New York Times.
6. ^ Cantrell, Cindy (February 16, 2016). "From Budapest to Brookline, a psychoanalyst looks back". The Boston Globe.
7. ^ "Czech Republic: Tribute book to Jiří Fiedler published". Jewish Heritage Europe. jewish-heritage-europe.eu. July 24, 2015.
8. ^ "The Long Half-Lives of Love and Trauma by Helen Epstein". Plunkett Lake Press. plunkettlakepress.com.
9. ^ "Helen Epstein on 'Intergenerational Effects of Genocide: A Survivor's Daughter Reflects'". northeastern.edu. 2016-07-27. Archived from the original on 2017-05-17. Retrieved 2025-01-03.
10. ^ "Helen Epstein" (video). UO Today, #229. University of Oregon. media.uoregon.edu. February 5, 2007. Archived from the original on June 19, 2015.

## External links

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* Official website

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