96 Year Old Harry Bernstein Writes His First Book

Harry Bernstein is no stranger to the craft of writing. Throughout his working life he was an editor and freelance writer of articles and short stories. But it took him a bit more time to get around to writing a book. His first was published recently, when Bernstein was 96.

The book is called The Invisible Wall, and it's a memoir of his life growing up in the north of England in the early 20th century. At that time there was a major cultural divide between the Christians and Jews of the area, and things occasionally got very ugly between the two groups. Bernstein's family was Jewish, but his sister Lily challenged the norm by falling in love with, and eventually marrying, a Christian - which put her at odds with her family, who essentially disowned her. The book's subtitle says it's a love story, but it's obviously not a fairy tale.

Why this book, and why now? Bernstein lost Ruby, his wife of almost 70 years, to leukemia in 2002. After her death he found himself spending a lot of time feeling lonely and thinking about the past. This would probably be natural for someone of his age, especially after the death of a spouse. But at some point Bernstein decided it might be more productive to just write it all down. He started The Invisible Wall when he was 92.

The finished manuscript was rejected by several publishing companies before finally being accepted by Random House UK. It's available in the United States in hardcover and ebook form, and has been so successful (Amazon.com reviewers have consistently given it five stars) that a trade paperback version is planned for next year.

Bernstein admits he did try writing a novel when he was much younger, but it was never published. He thinks the success of The Invisible Wall may be due to the fact that his writing was different; he was telling stories of real life rather than trying to develop a fictional situation. He also feels that this book wouldn't have been possible for him to write any earlier in his life. He needed to be ready to do it, and that didn't happen until he was in his 90s.

And now that he's started he's not planning on quitting anytime soon. The Invisible Wall has turned into the first book in a series. Its sequel, The Dream, chronicles his family's move to the United States. It isn't complete yet - Bernstein isn't pushing himself, so he works on it whenever he feels motivated - but there's not much doubt it eventually will be. Harry Bernstein believes in finishing what he starts.