Last Wednesday marked the 123rd and final day of the We Were the Lucky Ones series shoot. I can't believe it. I remember meeting the cast and walking the hallways of the Kurc apartment in Bucharest for the first time as if it were yesterday. I made four trips across the pond to be a…
Read MoreWith Tommy on the day I arrived in Romania "Hello, friend," said Tommy, producer and director for the television series of We Were the Lucky Ones. "Come meet your family." It was the day before Thanksgiving, and I'd just landed in Bucharest, Romania, where filming would take place. Tommy was leading a rehearsal…
Read More
This group!! It's tough to put to words just how much the smiling faces in the photos below have come to mean to me over the course of our four months together. Our Writers Room first gathered as a whole in May. We weighed in from both coasts and we met every day, often for…
Read More
I've been fielding a lot of questions lately about the Hulu adaptation of We Were the Lucky Ones, like where we're filming (we'll shoot the bulk of the series in Romania), when we'll begin (at the end of November) and whether I'll go over for the shoot (absolutely, as often as possible!)--but the question I…
Read More
Two and a half years ago, when COVID tilted the world on its axis and swept us all into isolation, my family proposed a weekly Zoom---a means to check in on one another, to visit safely and to stay sane via some human, friendly interaction. While not everyone has been able to make every meeting,…
Read More
Friends! It's been a minute since I've posted to my blog (my apologies--I'll blame the radio silence on the pandemic, and on a looming deadline for Book 2!). Let me catch you up with the latest news. As I reported some time ago, my dear friend Thomas Kail optioned We Were the Lucky Ones for television. After…
Read More
So I've got some big news: Thomas Kail, dear friend and director extraordinaire, has optioned We Were the Lucky Ones for the screen!! His production company, Old 320 Sycamore, aims to adapt the story into a limited series for television. It's been a day since the news went live, and yet here I am, still…
Read MoreRansom at six months, enjoying a warm October day in Rowayton's Pinkney Park Well hello! It's been a while. I left you last in March, at the tail end of my book tour, and (in case the photos didn't give it away) seven months pregnant. I had grand plans to circle…
Read More
Greetings, and happy Spring! (Does a snowy April still count as Spring??) Outside the Moveable Feast presentation on Pawley's Island, SC, with my mother, Isabelle I thought I'd send an update to fill you in on what's been shaking in the world of We Were the Lucky Ones. I hit the…
Read More
It's been six weeks since the launch of We Were the Lucky Ones---a milestone made all the more monumental by the photos that flooded my inbox in the days that followed---photos of friends with the book in their laps at the beach, on an airplane, at home cozied up on the couch; photos of the U.K. edition spotted at Waterstones in London…
Read More
Believe it or not, in less than two weeks, We Were the Lucky Ones will be out for the world to read. To the family and friends who have cheered wholeheartedly (and waited patiently) throughout this near-decade-long journey, and to the teams at The Book Group and at Viking that have offered immeasurable support and guidance along the road to publication –…
Read More
Two weeks ago, I had the honor of being invited by Penguin Random House (PRH) to join a panel of six authors with forthcoming titles at an Open Book event in New York. Our assignment, we were told prior to the event, was to speak for ten minutes each about our books to a group of 100 librarians from…
Read More
Fact for first-time authors: if you think your work is complete when you turn in a final round of manuscript edits---think again! We Were the Lucky Ones is officially off to print and somehow the last six weeks have been a whirlwind of book-related events and assignments. The fun began in early October, when Viking organized a media lunch in my honor, inviting literary…
Read More
Last year, Robert and I set off on a weeklong, 685-mile journey through Poland, the Czech Republic, and Austria, following in the footsteps of my relatives, who traveled the same path seventy years before. A few weeks ago, we hopped the pond once again to complete a second leg of my family's post-war exodus, this time with our four-and-a-half year old son…
Read More
What a week it's been for We Were the Lucky Ones (and it's only Wednesday!). On Monday I turned in a final round of manuscript revisions---minor catches and tweaks that will help, I hope, to make the book feel more polished---and by final I mean final. As in, the round of revisions I've been looking forward to-slash-dreading…
Read More
We Were the Lucky Ones has a launch date---February 14, 2017---yes, Valentine's Day! The countdown to publication is finally, officially, on. February may feel eons away (especially as we've just dipped our toes into summer), but I've come to realize there will be plenty to report between now and then. Last week I had the pleasure of meeting with the publicity and marketing teams at…
Read More
I never would have guessed that the first person I'd share my new working title with (outside of my immediate family) would be Markus Zusak, author of the (mega)bestselling novel, The Book Thief. I had the pleasure of meeting Markus yesterday, at a book signing event in Connecticut. The Book Thief, narrated by none other than death…
Read More
It's hard to believe that over two months have passed since Robert and I set off for Warsaw. Our Eternal Quest, as we dubbed it, left me energized and eager to get back to the book, which is lucky; on returning I received a new round of feedback from my editor, Sarah. I knew this round would be more specific than the last, and I'd be lying if…
Read MoreEarlier this month, my agent deemed my manuscript polished enough to pitch to publishing houses. "I think we're ready for primetime," Brettne said. I agreed reluctantly---even after our latest round of revisions, I still felt the pressing need to tinker, to make it better. But it was time, Brettne assured me, to let it go. Brettne pitched The Eternal Ones to over a…
Read More
The agent search, as any first-time author will tell you, is daunting. It requires an ungodly amount of due diligence, and a hearty dose of self-esteem. Rejections are inevitable; it can take months, years even, for a literary agent to bite. And so, when my editor Jane and I put together an A-list of names to query about my manuscript, I was…
Read More
I left you last month with a post about my editor---and I promise to update you on Jane's encouraging feedback at a later date. This post, however, I'd like to dedicate to my grandmother, Caroline, who passed away on Tuesday, two days short of her 100th birthday. Left: Young Caroline with her parents and brothers…
Read MoreOn Tuesday, I sent the latest version of The Lucky Ones to Jane Fransson, an editor who's worked with a host of successful authors, several of whom I've read and loved (e.g., Pamela Druckerman, Bringing up Bébé; Sadia Shepard, The Girl from Foreign). Admittedly, I held my email captive in a draft folder for a full day until I finally summoned the courage to set…
Read MoreCan it be--August already? What a summer it's been. Mine (in a nutshell) has entailed exploring Nova Scotia's seaboard with family, cavorting with friends in Charleston, beach-hopping with Wyatt in Rowayton, tackling boatloads of travel writing assignments, and, of course, pushing to complete a second round of edits to my manuscript. Dvora said her mother…
Read More
Well folks, I'm mid-way through a second round of book edits, and if I squint hard enough, I think I can see the finish line! A pre-war ad for my grandparents' fabric store in Radom. Translated: "Silk goods, woolens and cotton, ladies' and men's, and a great range of curtains and caps,…
Read MoreGreetings, friends! I'm sure many of you are as reluctant as I am to bid summertime adieu---although I must admit, I'm looking forward to some downtime this fall. Robert, Wyatt and I have been moving nonstop, it seems, hopping between family reunions, horse shows, adventure races and ultrasound appointments. Turns out the reason I've been so…
Read MoreWhen it rains it pours. That's certainly been the case here in Connecticut, where the past few months have brought weeks of torrential downpour (and I thought we'd left the rain behind in Seattle!), along with---on a much brighter note---several unexpected opportunities to promote The Lucky Ones. Shortly after I completed my piece for the Gordon…
Read MoreA couple of months ago, I received a request for alumni updates from Siobhan Welsh at the Gordon School in Rhode Island, where I attended 1st through 8th grade. When Siobhan heard about my book project, she immediately asked if I would consider coming in to speak with Gordon's 8th grade class about my family's story.…
Read MoreAs a new mom, I'm always on the lookout for tips on parenting. A year and a half ago, when I was still sporting a baby bump, my shelves were piled with the usual prerequisites---Baby 411, The Happiest Baby on the Block, What to Expect: the First Year. Wyatt, one month old, stares…
Read More
I'll never forget the day I got the call. I was at my uncle's house in Warwick, Rhode Island for dinner. My cell phone rang as we were sitting down to eat. Who did I know with a 919 area code? And then it dawned on me. Eliska's voice was deep, with a thick accent,…
Read More
Greetings and happy 2013! I hope you're as excited as I am for what the new year has to bring. #1 on my list of resolutions this year is to complete a draft of The Lucky Ones by summertime. Wish me luck! I left you last with a snapshot of life for the Kurc siblings in December of…
Read More
Last April, I received a letter from the Memorial Center in Moscow---an organization I contacted in hopes of tracking down additional information about my great-uncle Genek, who was deported from Poland in 1941, along with his wife Herta, to one of Stalin's Siberian gulags. The letter I received from the Memorial Center in…
Read More
The Sunday before last, the New York Times published an article entitled Proudly Bearing Elders’ Scars, Their Skin Says ‘Never Forget.’ In it, journalist Jodi Rudoren describes a movement among twenty- and thirty-somethings to replicate the tattoos worn on the the forearms of their Holocaust-survivor relatives. I found the piece both chilling and inspiring. …
Read More
Neck deep in research on Stalin's Siberian gulags, I was consumed with the burning question of how and why Genek and Herta were sent off to Siberia in the first place. By recommendation of the Kresy-Siberia Foundation, I contacted Stanford University's Hoover Institution. Amazingly, I heard back right away---not only did Hoover have a record of Genek's name, they had…
Read MoreAfter six weeks of squatting with friends and another six weeks of tackling travel writing assignments and endless piles of boxes, we're (nearly!) settled in our new home...which means, at long last, I can return to my book. Inspired by a recent visit from my cousin-once-removed, Michel (visiting New York from Brazil), I thought I'd…
Read More
I've been thinking a lot recently about the meaning of "home." A month ago, after a seven-year stint in Seattle, Robert and I packed up six-month-old Wyatt and all of our belongings and caught a one-way flight to Connecticut. The day before our move, however, our CT lease fell through, and our world turned upside…
Read More
You guessed right, Daryl---the mosaic in the banner photo above lives just off the shore of Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Congratulations on being the first to respond correctly---your iTunes gift card is on the way (you should consider downloading Getz & Gilberto's Girl from Ipanema to commemorate your win!). Robert and I visited…
Read More
Thanks to all of you who have guessed/commented on last week's "name that photo" contest. The verdict's still out on where the banner shot (above) was taken...which means a $25 iTunes gift certificate is still up for grabs! I've decided to post one, last clue---a panned-out photo (below)---which I imagine will incite a few aha's!…
Read More
"I wasn't the only one in the family with multiple identities," Ricardo said when he'd finished explaining the story behind his two birth certificates. "During the war, my parents went by the name BRZOZA." Ricardo's father, it turns out, was part of the Jewish Underground. He made false papers. "How?" I asked. "He replicated the stamps…
Read More
Last night I watched a documentary called 50 Children, the Rescue Mission of Mr. and Mrs. Kraus (available on HBO until 5/5), about a Philadelphia couple, Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus, who set off in 1939 on a mission to bring 50 Jewish children out of Nazi-occupied Austria. The Krauses faced several daunting obstacles along the way---they themselves…
Read More
A month after I returned from Paris, I flew to Miami to interview Ricardo, Anna's older brother (my grandfather's nephew). Ricardo was born just after the war, although when, and where exactly, seemed to be something of a mystery. "Ask him about his birthdays," my mother suggested, before I left. "Birthday...S?" "Yeah. He has two of them."…
Read More
Hello, friends and family! Little Man Wyatt has rounded the three month bend and I'm happy to report that I'm back (well, almost) from the Land of the Sleep Deprived, and excited to get the ball rolling again on blog posts. I left you last in Paris, where I'd spent an afternoon interviewing Felicia (daughter of…
Read More
Dear family, friends, and followers of The Lucky Ones, Exciting news on the home front--Robert and I have welcomed a new branch to our family tree! Thomas Wyatt Farinholt ("Wyatt") arrived on November 23rd, just over three weeks early (in true Kurc fashion, he's already on his own schedule--determined to take fate into his own…
Read More
In February of '08 I flew to Paris to interview two relatives: Felicia and Anna (daughters of Mila and Halina, my grandfather’s two sisters). Equipped with a digital voice recorder and an empty moleskin notebook (and a flutter in my stomach that kept me wide awake for the duration of my ten-hour overnight journey), February 11, 2008 will…
Read More
It was January 17th, 2008 when I finally picked my mother’s black binder up off the shelf. A new year, full of resolutions, including one big one—to unearth and record my family history. I sat cross-legged on my couch in Seattle, the binder resting on my lap, took a long, slow breath, and flipped it…
Read More
I remember the day I told my mother I wanted to write a book about our family history. We were sitting on her gray and white-striped couch in Providence, Rhode Island, the day after Christmas, 2005. “I’ve decided I’d like to write a book about how Papa and his siblings survived the Holocaust," I said.…
Read More
(Continued from Thirty-Two Relatives Under One Roof: a Raucous-Turned-Revelational Family Reunion) It turns out my grandfather (who later changed his name, for obvious reasons, from Adolph/Addy to Eddy), was just one of over twenty Kurcs originally from Radom, Poland. He was living in Toulouse in ‘39 at the start of the war. When he learned it would…
Read More
In July of 2000, the summer after I graduated from the University of Virginia, my mother organized a Kurc family reunion at our house on Martha’s Vineyard. She invited thirty-two relatives (many of whom she hadn’t seen in over twenty years), and to her surprise, all thirty-two RSVPed, “Of course we’ll be there!” We rented…
Read More