Adult life
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Bernice Eisenstein states that “You can tell, I think, that I’m rather private about ‘facts’ concerning my life” (personal communication, 2011). This seems to be the case because it is surprisingly difficult to find much detailed information on Bernice Eisenstein’s adult life. However, there is enough information (from personal communication and her memoir) to construct a more basic picture of her adult life which includes such aspects as education, travels, etc.
While growing up and in her adult years, Bernice Eisenstein loved reading. This love of reading continued throughout and influenced her education. She admits that she “...spent most of high school reading” (Eisenstein, interview, 2011). Bernice attended high school when there was still a grade 13 and she “...loved grade 13 math...” (Eisenstein, personal communication, 2011). Bernice Eisenstein later attended York University for literature. Although she is also an illustrator now, Bernice states that: ...at the time, I wasn’t terribly secure about my abilities as an artist, so I chose not to go to art school, but I knew I loved to read, so I went to York University and that’s what I did. I studied literature, and I read... And then [later on] I went back to painting. (personal communication, 2011)
Bernice Eisenstein did do some travelling in her early adult years. In her memoir she says that she had lived in Jerusalem when she was 20 years old (I was a child of holocaust survivors, 2006, p. 124). However, when asked about travelling in a personal communication Bernice Eisenstein states: “As for travelling—I’ll only sound like a cliché—you diminish and you grow at the same time” (Eisenstein, personal communication, 2011).
Bernice Eisenstein is most known for her memoir I was a child of holocaust survivors (2006). Bernice Eisenstein has also (before and after her memoir) illustrated, written, reviewed, and edited for many magazines, most notably the Globe and Mail (McClelland). For example, here is a memoir review (of the memoir A family ravaged by Alzheimer’s) written by Bernice herself for the Globe and Mail in 2010.
Some of the most notable events during Bernice Eisenstein’s adult years are the death of her father and the birth of her son (these events are closely tied and very significant in her memoir). Her interactions with the group (her parent’s friends and fellow Holocaust survivors) and other survivors that occurred during her adult years significantly shape her memoir and the reader’s experience. Bernice Eisenstein now lives in Toronto with her husband and children (McClelland).
Eisenstein, B. (2006). I was a child of Holocaust survivors. Toronto, On: McClelland & Stewart Ltd.
McClelland.com (n.d.). Retrieved October 25, 2011, from http://www.mcclelland.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=68685
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1 comments:
I agree with you, it is difficult to find a lot of history on her background, however I think that is a good thing. It may have been done on purpose so readers focus more on the content of the writing than the author. York University is awesome!
while reading this article, I wanted to know more about her illustration history. Though she never took illustration, She knows a ton about it, and her artwork conveys a sense of knowledge, beauty, and artistic sense. I am highly, highly impressed, and look to her as a role model of success.
For links, I found an older illustration that she did for "This Magazine".
http://www.thismagazine.ca/issues/2006/11/40ideas.php
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/854/missbe.png/
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