We wrap up this year’s Mother’s Day Author Blog series with Sharon Kurtzman, whose debut novel, THE LOST BAKER OF VIENNA, releases on August 19th and is inspired by the experiences of her own family after the Holocaust. Starting at the age of eight, when she moved to a new town, Sharon has such fond memories of going to the library with her parents and older brother. She is forever grateful to her mother for introducing her to the joys of reading and reminding her that, no matter where you are, the library always will be your home away from home.
When I was eight, my family moved to a new town in the middle of the school year. The timing was right for my parents, but not so great for me. Three distinct memories remain with me from that time. I had a hard time making friends; a few months after moving, I fell off my bike and broke my arm; and our new town’s public library became my home away from home.
I owe that last memory to my mother.
Mom must have noticed my loneliness, because one Saturday she suggested a family trip to our local library. Off we went: my parents, my older brother and me to New Jersey’s Springfield Public Library. Our visit was no quick dash in and out. Instead, Mom guided me to the children’s section and let me roam the aisles at my leisure, while she wandered over to join my dad in the adult section. Of course, she popped back over several times to check on me. Mom was notoriously overprotective, and I’d bet now that she checked on me way more than I realized. That day, I took my time, feeling free, yet also pleasantly grounded as I slipped stories from shelves, flipped through pages, read some, and if a book didn’t appeal to me, I replaced it and selected another. I recall happily sitting on a lumpy pillow set on no-nonsense carpeting with a stack of books to pour over, and the soothing scent of paper in the air.
After a few hours, we left with our arms full of books, waddling together to the car like a family of contented ducks.
During the months that followed, Mom made sure we went to the library every few weeks to return the books that were due and to check out more. This ritual helped ease my transition to our new town. As I grew older and made friends, my friends and I would ride our bicycles to the library, and we would return home with books loaded into the flower-adorned baskets attached to our bikes’ high-rise handlebars.
Throughout my teens, I could walk into our kitchen at any point and find my mother at the table reading, a memory that now stirs up questions I wish I’d thought to ask before she passed away. Mom was a Holocaust survivor, and I’ve spent the past five years working on a historical novel (THE LOST BAKER OF VIENNA, releasing in August 2025) inspired by her experiences during World War II. My research revealed that when the Nazis invaded Vilna, her city in Poland, they quickly formed a Jewish ghetto and destroyed the library. Yet somehow, people saved and smuggled books into an underground library. I’m left to wonder if my mother, a teenager, had access to those hidden books. I also wish I’d asked her how it felt when she received her first American library card years later.
My strong connection to libraries stayed with me into adulthood and motherhood. Years ago, as a new stay-at-home mom, my family relocated from New Jersey to North Carolina. Once again, I was friendless in a new place. This time, and with my one-year-old daughter in tow, I quickly picked up a new library card. During our first months in North Carolina, I often took my daughter there to read to her, check out books, and attend story time for babies and toddlers. A few years later, after my son arrived, the three of us would go to the library. As my children grew, the library remained an important place in our lives. We went there for books and school research projects, and we used it as a central meeting place with tutors. I’ve also used their quiet rooms for a place to write.
My mother gave me and my children an extraordinary gift when she organized those early family outings to the library. Mom fostered not only my love of reading but also my view that no matter where you’re located, a library always feels like home.
