From fiction back to fact: How to tell harrowing stories of war

From The Post…

Art, craft and design writer and textile artist Helen Schamroth ONZM, author of award-winning book 100 New Zealand Craft Artists, has recorded how some of her family survived the Holocaust in a moving work of creative non-fiction.

Eighteen for Life – surviving the Holocaust is as much about the horrors of war, as it is about unravelling the family secrets and trauma the war left behind.

Eighteen for Life – surviving the Holocaust by Helen Schamroth, published by Amsterdam Publishers, is out July 24. RRP: $45

What inspired you to start working on this book?

I was trying to unravel the Holocaust references in new artwork for a solo exhibition. My notes evolved into titles for the pieces, then phrases, paragraphs… until I had three short stories based on my family’s lives. Eventually there were 18 connected fictional stories.

Read the full article on The Post HERE.

Also online at the Sunday Star-Times: read an extract from Eighteen for Life – surviving the Holocaust.