Weekly Question #6 — Discoveries Made While Writing

Question: Are there any characters or events in the book that you yourself only discovered in the process of writing it? It’s remarkable how the horizon of events can expand as you immerse yourself in family stories.

Oh, absolutely. For example, my Canadian relatives told me a completely different version of the parting between Yakov and Leyba on Ellis Island—not the one I had heard from my father and grandmother. Both versions are reflected in the story “The Brother”.

Much of what I thought I remembered myself was corrected or expanded by my mother—often reshaping my memories and the way I interpreted them. One episode in particular, from the story “My First Teacher”, really struck me. In its first version, I described how my mother had never received the title of “Honored Teacher of the Russian Federation.” But after reading it, she corrected me. It turned out that a few years earlier, during a visit to her native Leningrad, she had unexpectedly learned that the title had in fact been awarded to her—shortly after she had emigrated. But by that point, it didn’t matter much to her anymore—life had moved on. As the saying goes, the right thing at the wrong time is of no use. Naturally, I made the necessary corrections to the story.

And of course, I’m deeply grateful to my one-of-a-kind and dearly beloved sister, Kira Lisman, as well as to my wonderful relatives—the ever-charming Milochka Vainberg and the exceptionally erudite Mera Lifshitz—for all the half-forgotten stories and family details they so generously and willingly shared with me.