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 become a mother unintentionally 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—and they keep doing so even after they’ve passed away, even if we hardly knew them or didn’t know them 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 address 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.

Moderator: Irina Kissin

As part of the Jewish Cultural Days

In cooperation with the Jewish Community of Heidelberg