Lena Gorelik

“Deeply moving, brutally honest: simply wonderful.”
(Doris Dörrie)

*All My Mothers* tells the story of a special, often lifelong, complex relationship—and also of the kinds of mothers we ourselves strive to be. How we sometimes fail, doubt, and stumble; what binds us and shapes us. What it means to be a mother by accident or not to be a mother at all, to lose a child, or to be unable to let go. “Mothers […] nestle themselves in our minds and hearts,” writes Lena Gorelik, “they whisper to us, scold us, comfort us—they do so even after they’ve passed away, and even when we hardly knew them, if at all. We build our lives on what we have become—thanks to or in spite of our mothers.”

Lena Gorelik, born in St. Petersburg in 1981, came to Germany with her Jewish family in 1992. She became known for her novels—such as *Who We Are* (2021)—which explore themes such as migration, identity, family, memory, and belonging. She is actively involved in debates on culture, democracy, and migration and has received numerous awards, including the 2024 Heinrich Mann Prize for Essays.

As part of the Jewish Culture Days

In cooperation with the Jewish Community of Heidelberg