Bereft: A Sister's Story

Rating:
Summary: An exceptional read
Review: I was very moved by Jane's story and I haven't been able to stop thinking about BEREFT. She writes beautifully and intelligently. Back in the 60's my older brother was killed in a car accident. Like Jane's family we never talked about it. Even today almost forty years later, we don't mention my brother in front of my mother. I wonder how this has effected my life? After reading this book, I hope to explore my own past and find out some answers.

Rating:
Summary: Self-analysis run amok
Review: In September 1966 Tempe, Arizona, David Mumbaugh stabbed to death Arizona State University coed Laura Bernstein in a mindless act of violence. Back in New Jersey, the stunned parents of the victim immediately decide that they and their other daughter, seventeen-year-old Jane will have to move on with their lives. Thus, Jane never had the opportunity to attain closure.

Over two decades later, Jane can no longer ignore the murder of her older sibling. She needs to make sense of the catastrophe that struck her family. Jane begins making inquiries into her sibling's murder and starts to look very closely at her own feelings while introspectively looking at her relationships with her husband and two daughters.

BEREFT: A SISTER'S STORY is a superb autobiography centering on the long-term effect of a tragedy on the loved ones left behind. Surprisingly, the trip through the mindfields of grief is never acrimonious or accusing, but instead is uplifting and passionate. Anyone suffering from a loss of a loved one will recognize Jane Bernstein's need to seek closure in order to cleanse her soul.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Searing, Honest, Beautifully written
Review: This is a beautifully written story of terrible, searing grief that the author suffered for years and years after the stabbing death of her sister while attending college.......The author stiffled her feelings, as taught so well by her parents, until she felt herself coming apart at the seams and knew she had to deal with it. The book is heart-breaking and wrenching, but I couldn't put it down because it is written with such honesty that I felt a friend was talking to me. The mystery of the murder is inconsequential, but has to be known before the author can know herself, so the book is part true crime and part gut-wrenching honesty. The book reminds me of Change Me Into Zeus' Daughter by Barbara Robinette Moss. I believe Moss is, like this author, a writing professor, and this is why these books can tell of such harrowing experiences in such a beautiful way. Thanks to the author for this book. It is important for all of us to remember that trauma has to be dealt with or it will haunt us forever........

Rating:
Summary: Self-analysis run amok
Review: To read the summary of the plot is to expect a tale about a family murder. To read this book is to find a self-indulgent autobiography, typical of those who believe their every thought is fascinating. Ms. Bernstein did have a tragedy in her life and there are moments when we are caught up in the relationship she lost with the death of her sister. But these are few compared to the endless display of her life events--over miles and years. I, for one, didn't find her life interesting enough to warrant this much type.