Bestselling author Alice Hoffman delivers a stunning novel about one of contemporary history's most acclaimed figures, exploring the little-known details of Anne Frank's life before she went into hiding. Based on extensive research and published in cooperation with the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, When We Flew Away is an extraordinary and moving tour de force.

Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl has captivated and inspired readers for decades. Published posthumously by her bereaved father, Anne's journal, written while she and her family were in hiding during World War II, has become one of the central texts of the Jewish experience during the Holocaust, as well as a work of literary genius.

With the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, the Frank family's life is turned inside out, blow by blow, restriction by restriction. Prejudice, loss, and terror run rampant, and Anne is forced to bear witness as ordinary people become monsters, and children and families are caught up in the inescapable tide of violence. In the midst of impossible danger, Anne, audacious and creative and fearless, discovers who she truly is. With a wisdom far beyond her years, she will become a writer who will go on to change the world as we know it.

Critically acclaimed author Alice Hoffman weaves a lyrical and heart-wrenching story of the way the world closes in on the Frank family from the moment the Nazis invade the Netherlands until they are forced into hiding, bringing Anne to bold, vivid life. This special conversation will be facilitated by Raisa Tolchinsky and followed by a Q&A. Participants will have an opportunity to have their book signed by Alice after the event.

A copy of When We Flew Away is included with all tickets.

Co-sponsored by Religion and Public Life at Harvard Divinity School.

Alice Hoffman is the author of more than thirty works of fiction, including When We Flew Away: A Novel of Anne Frank Before the Diary, The World That We Knew, The Marriage of Opposites, The Red Garden, The Museum of Extraordinary Things, The Dovekeepers, Here on Earth, an Oprah’s Book Club selection, and the Practical Magic series, including Practical Magic, Magic Lessons, The Rules of Magic, a selection of Reese’s Book Club, and The Book of Magic. She lives near Boston.

Raisa Tolchinsky's poetry explores the wisdom of the body and what it means to listen imaginatively. She is the author of Glass Jaw (Persea Books, 2024), winner of the 2023 Lexi Rudnitsky First Book Prize. Her poems have appeared in Boston Review, Kenyon Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, and other publications. She has held improvised typewriter sites everywhere from college campuses to hospital waiting rooms. Raisa holds an MFA from the University of Virginia, an MRPL from Harvard Divinity School, and a BA from Bowdoin College. In 2022–2023, she served as the George Bennett Writer-in-Residence at Phillips Exeter Academy. Currently, she is the Creative Writing Specialist at Harvard Divinity School.