FHC Speakers

Jane Bernstein was born in Brooklyn, New York and educated at New York University and Columbia University. She is the author of five books, most recently Rachel in the World. Her film work includes the screenplay for the Warner Brothers movie Seven Minutes in Heaven. Her essays and articles have appeared widely in such places as The New York Times Magazine, Ms., Creative Nonfiction, the Massachusetts Review, and Glamour. Among her fellowships and awards are two Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Fellowships, one in creative writing and one in media arts, two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships in Creative Writing. Jane is a professor of English and creative writing at Carnegie Mellon University and lives in Pittsburgh, PA

Her Book

About Rachel in the World
What happens when love is no longer enough? Jane Bernstein thought that learning to accept her daughter’s disabilities meant her struggles were over. But as Rachel grew up and needed more than a parent’s devotion, both mother and daughter were confronted with formidable obstacles. Rachel in the World, which begins in Rachel’s fifth year and ends when she turns twenty two, tells of their barriers and successes with the same honesty and humor that made Loving Rachel, Bernstein’s first memoir, a classic in its field. The linked accounts in part 1 center on family issues, social services, experiences with caregivers, and Rachel herself — difficult, charming, hard to fathom, eager for her own independence. The second part of the book chronicles Bernstein’s attempt to find Rachel housing at a time when over 200,000 Americans with mental retardation were on waiting lists for residential services. As Rachel prepares to leave her mother’s constant protection, Bernstein invites the reader to share the frustrations and unexpected pleasures of finding a place for her daughter, first in her family, and then in the world.