Jewish Life Digital Edition September 2015 | Page 37

is finished. I find that no matter how many books I write, I always have the fear that this time, I won’t get it done.” From her childhood view of authors being too famous to be real, to becoming a real-life, famous author, Miriam is enjoying everything that this brings with it, but she still keeps her head firmly out of the clouds and her feet on the ground. “I wouldn’t say this new vocation changed my life. Rather, I’d say that it enriched it. Not surprisingly, I am a big believer in the value of reading. It’s tremendously gratifying for me to know that I have played a part in encouraging so many children and young adults to read. The best feedback I can ever get is from a parent who tells me that his or her child never liked to read before they found one of my books! One of the nice offshoots of my writing has been the travelling I have done for research purposes. Together with my husband, I have gone to see many of the places where my books are set, and I’ve enjoyed the opportunities I have had to visit schools in Toronto and the New York area. I love meeting students and speak- ing to them about the writing process and answering questions about my books. I would like to think that by meeting me, they realise that, contrary to what I believed as a child, you don’t have to be ‘famous’ to write books!” And Miriam doesn’t just write for girls or even children. Her book, “The Stars Will Guide You”, tells the emotional and, at times, heartbreaking story of a family in Rome facing the harsh realities of the Holocaust, as they are forced to separate and go into hiding to save themselves. Although the characters are fictional, the events and circumstances they find themselves in are very real, and Miriam includes notes about the extensive research she undertook when writing the book. Another of her works, “The Jewel and The Journey”, a fictionalised account of Jews HE AIN’T HEAVY, He’s my brother. in the early 1800s who were inspired by the disciples of the Vilna Gaon to make aliyah, was written as a gift for one of her sons. The inspirational account tells of the incredibly perilous, costly and lengthy journey that required those brave souls who undertook it to say goodbye forever to the extended families they left behind. Miriam is currently working on another book for boys, after being blessed with her first grandchild – a boy – last year. “I decided at that time that the next book I would write would be for him. As always, it’s set in the past. My hope is that my books continue to appeal to children and young adults. I would be thrilled to know that one day in the future, a mother or father will recommend one of my books to their own child, because they themselves read it and enjoyed it when they were young.” JL NOW WE NEED YOU TO CARRY US. Go online to donate or send an Ecard at: www.hatzolah.co.za 29 Durham Street, Readene. Tel (Office): 0860 100 101, [email protected], www.hatzolah.co.za He is my brother half page.indd 1 2015/08/14 2:20 PM