The Library Where It Began

Every writer has a beginning.

Mine happened in a library.

I was thirteen years old, sitting in the East Longmeadow library with Sue, the librarian. I had just finished reading The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.

The story affected me deeply. It made me think about suffering. It made me think about humanity. It made me think about the experiences people carry that others never see.

Then I wrote.

My first poem was called Freedom. Another early piece was titled I Am a Jewish Boy.

At thirteen years old, I was not thinking about becoming an author. I was not thinking about publishing books. I was simply trying to express something inside myself.

But that day in the library was the beginning. The beginning of a voice. The beginning of the writer I would become.