Rachel in the World
Now Available
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, pleasures of finding a place for her daughter, first in her family, and then in the world.


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Loving Rachel
New Edition Now Available
In 1983, Jane Bernstein had everything she ever wanted: a healthy four year old daughter, Charlotte; a happy marriage; a highly praised first novel; and a brand new baby, Rachel. But by the time Rachel was six weeks old, a neuro-ophthalmologist told Jane and her husband that their baby was blind. Although there was some hope that Rachel might gain partial vision as she grew, her condition was one that often resulted in seizure disorders and intellectual impairment. So began a series of medical and emotional setbacks that were to plague Rachel and her parents and strain their marriage to the breaking point. Spanning the first four years of Rachel’s life, Loving Rachel is a heartbreaking chronicle of a marriage and a compelling story of parental love told with searing honesty and surprising humor.

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"Independent Means"
Jane’s New York Times Magazine “Lives,” column from October 7, 2007
click here to read
Rachel Is
To see the trailer for “Rachel Is,” a documentary about Rachel’s transitional year by her sister Charlotte Glynn,
visit Jacktar Films