European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 8, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 24 scene stars and stripes sunday april 8 2007 d c 2 c 0 d u u 0 q q never too late firs time author 96 chronicles childhood in England into his 90s decimated by the loss of his beloved wife and alone at night with the memories of a rough and sad childhood spent battling an alcoholic father and vicious antisemitism Harry Bernstein decided to write what started out As almost a form of therapy eventually turned into a Book called the invisible Wai that Chroni cles his childhood in a Northern England Mill town and considering that it want published unti he was 96 serves As an inspiration for aspiring authors Bernstein began writing the invisible Wall when he was 93 As a Way to Deal with his memories and the loneliness he Felt after his wife of almost seven decades Ruby passed away from leukaemia in 2002 i didst know what the Heck to do with myself you know when you get into your 90s like 1 am theres nowhere else to think except the past theres no future to think about theres very Little present says Bernstein so you think of the past particularly at nighttime when youre lying in bed and it All came Back so i began to write and i was occupied and it was really the Best therapy i could have had Bernstein first sent the finished Manu script to new York publishers but hav ing no Luck he sent it to the London office of ran Dom House there the Book sat for about a year unti it came across the desk of editor Kate Elton who described it Asun putdown Able i think Hes a most fantastic writer Elton said he creates the characters of his family so vividly and tells such a moving Story the books title refers to the Barrier that divides bernsteins Side of the Street the jewish Side from the Christian Side in his Hometown of Stockport near Manchester a separation he likens to two enemy Camps that have an uneasy truce about the Only thing that United the two sides of the Street was poverty with most people working in the Mills on salaries that Only allowed them to get by week to week we understood we were not to involve ourselves with them and they likewise with us the jewish boys and girls had their games on their Side they the christians played their games on their Side it was two separate worlds Bernstein says the Book is entered on one relation ship that crosses the religious Divide bernsteins sister Lily Falls in love with a schoolmate Arthur Forshaw the couple is drawn to each other by their love of books and learning but when bernsteins family finds out about the relationship they try to Send her away to the United states when Lily and Arthur marry in secret the family sits Shiva for her meaning that in their eyes she is dead could there be anything More cruel than that kind of bigotry that if a girl or a boy marries in the other Faith Hes considered or Shes considered dead says Bernstein who Speaks in a that rarely wavers and vividly remembers Many childhood details if there is a heroine in the invisible Wall says Bernstein it is his Mother who struggled to provide for the family and protect them from a father who preferred to spend his time and Money at neighbourhood pubs like his sister Bernstein always loved a Harry Bernstein 96 works at his typewriter March 14 in the bed room of his Brick no Home what started out As almost a form of therapy eventually turned into his Book called the invisible Wall that chronicles bernsteins child Hood in England Reading and literature besides writing freelance articles throughout his life he edited Trade magazines and read prospective movie scripts for motion picture companies in new York his Mother always dreamed of mov ing to America and a better life but Many of the problems that plagued them in England such As poverty and her husbands drinking and abuse followed them to Chicago and eventually new York City the first 25 years of my life were very sad Bernstein says but the years that followed made up for it after i got married they were wonderful years the bernsteins had two children Adrienne and Charles his daughter who lives in Brooklyn said she had the sense that her father had a Story inside him that he needed to get out for people who dont know him i think it would it would be surprising she said referring to the fact that he wrote his first Book so late in life for me As his daughter knowing How disciplined and hardworking and talented he is it was not a Surprise now that Hes got the hang of Book writing Bernstein says he could Proba Bly write a few More and is considering writing about his marriage his second Book the dream is almost finished and centers on the family move to the United states Ballantine has already signed on As the american publisher Usa today bestsellers key fiction a nonfiction hardcover paperback 1 the secret by Rhonda Byrne nah 2 two Littie Giris in Blue by Mary Higgins Clark up 3 Nineteen minutes by Jodi Picoult Fth 4 eldest 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