I have been writing since I was 12 years old. Writing was a lifeline for me. It was the one place I could tell the truth. All the adults I knew seemed crazy and difficult. I had a painful childhood, but somehow I am having a wonderful life. My grandmother saved me.
I’m an East Coaster, born in New York. I have a a B.A. in English Literature from Temple University, and a Masters Degree in Computer Science from University of Pennsylvania. I like school.
In addition to writing, I have always pursued the visual arts. I am a Certified Zentangle Teacher. Zentangle is a drawing artform that anyone can do, regardless of training or perceived talent. See my Zentangle website here.
I joined Gold Country Writers in 2013, and the GCW Novel Writers Group was most helpful to me as I was writing my first book, “Loss of Deliverance,” published in 2014. It’s about a young woman who gets involved in the dangerous drug trade of the 1970’s and how she finds her way out.
My second novel, “Stitching a Life, An Immigration Story,” was published in 2020 by She Writes Press. It’s a fictional biography of my grandmother. In 1900, when she was just sixteen, Helen Breakstone came over from Lithuania by herself. Like millions of Jews, she came to America to escape the anti-Semitic violence of the ruling Russian Tsars. Like many Jewish immigrants, she landed at Ellis Island, lived on the Lower East Side, and worked in the garment trade. I am happy to honor her with this book.
My third book is a memoir entitled “Moments of Knowing.” It has been accepted for publication by She Writes Press on April 8, 2025. It is essentially my auto-biography. It’s especially about kindness and love, and the times in my life when I felt a moment of knowing that was precious to me. These moments are set against a dark background of child abuse, for which I compensated with compulsive overeating and other unhealthy behaviors that nonetheless helped me get through to a true recovery.
My fourth book has been recently completed. It is a biography as told to me by the well-known Buddhist teacher John Travis, my own meditation teacher for thirty years and a founding teacher of Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Marin County, CA. I am honored to share John’s story. He is a wonderful teacher and a great spirit.
Both of my published books are available on Amazon, and Moments of Knowing can be pre-ordered on Amazon.
I was interviewed in February 2022, by New York City’s Tenement Museum about “Stitching A Life,” my book about my grandmother and her 1900 immigration from Europe to New York City. Her story takes place in settings depicted at the Tenement Museum. The museum was an important inspiration to me when writing this book. You can watch the interview here.
I also spoke about the process of writing “Stitching A Life,” at a meeting of the Gold Country Writers in March, 2022. You can watch the video of that talk here.
You can email me anytime at maryhelen@maryhelenfein.com
Or feel free to call me at 530-852-2260
As the Dalai Lama says, “My religion is kindness.”
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