Caroline Heller

Arrested in Prague on the night World War II broke out, Paul Heller, a young Czech doctor, was imprisoned in Buchenwald for the next six years. His powerful and poignant journal entries form the centerpiece of Reading Claudius: A Memoir in Two Parts by Caroline Heller, Paul’s daughter. The second half begins at Heller’s birth, and follows her childhood and coming of age. Restless and insecure, Caroline carries the trauma of her parents’ story with her, but her quest to make peace with her heritage is eased by the love of books and writers, part of her family legacy. Through the darkest years of Hitler’s rule, Caroline’s parents and uncle turned time and time again to literature to help them survive—and so she does as well.

About Caroline Heller: Caroline Heller is the Director of the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program in Educational Studies at Lesley University, where she is also a professor in the graduate school of education. She lives in Boston with her family.