It’s never too late
-
- April
- 6
One of the latest literary success stories comes from an unlikely source: 96-year-old first-time author Harry Bernstein.
His book, “The Invisible Wall: A Love Story That Broke Barriers”:http://www.randomhouse.ca/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780345495808  published by Ballantine Books  is a 320-page memoir that tells of the separation between Christians and Jews in Bernstein’s childhood home town in northern England.
And he didn’t start writing it until he was 93.
When I read a review of Bernstein’s book earlier this week, I couldn’t help but feel energized. Here was a man who decided he was going to write the story of his life  spurred on, he says, by a sense of loneliness and desperation after the death of his wife of nearly 70 years  and he didn’t let his age stop him. He also told reporters he’s working on his second book, and that he already has the publisher signed on.
Even if you’re not a writer, it’s hard not to be inspired by Bernstein’s success. There are plenty of us who have unfulfilled dreams, and who wonder if it’s too late for second chances.
Sometimes I wish I had gone to medical school or become an Olympic athlete. The truth is I’ve never been athletic  I think I set the record for my elementary school’s shortest long jump  and I don’t have the stomach or the decisiveness for a career in medicine.
But isn’t it nice to know we still have options? And that, for the most part, the world of possibility is wide open?
I had always planned on having my first novel published before I turned 50. It’s not happening. But reading about Harry Bernstein and his literary success is hugely inspiring to me  and I imagine many others feel the same way.
What do you think? Are there some dreams you’re still chasing?
This entry was posted
on Friday, April 6th, 2007 at 12:36 pm by Linda Lombroso.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Print
| 
Email
Baby boomer Linda Lombroso was born in Queens and grew up in Port Washington. She began her journalism career at New York Magazine and Rolling Stone, and came back to the field after spending 10 years as a stay-at-home mother. Linda joined The Journal News in 1997 and has been a Life & Style writer since 2000. She has three children.
