Steve Bernstein

This is an incredible book. That is what I feel.

When I started the book, I did not know what a stoop was. These are stories from Steve Bernstein's childhood and adolescent years, first in the Bronx and then in his new neighbourhood.

Now, I have never been to the Bronx, yet when I read these stories, I felt I was there in the Bronx, beside him, listening to him talk. It was a difficult childhood, yet the stories are told in a manner where he does not ask for your pity, or sympathy. They are told straight out, and this invites respect and understanding.

It's a very different life from the one I have grown up in, yet I found I could relate.

Each story has a poignancy of its own, and you feel the connection with Steve as he takes you through the loss of his beloved dog, to the loss of his childhood friend.

What he kept through this journey, is his humanity and his faith in himself. He also kept a strong sense of family, and this is incredible. There is no bitterness in his writing.

There are just the very human stories from the stoop.… (meer)