BRENDA SEROTTE

Click and type in a question or comment

Dear Brenda: I heard your new book was about Peru and the Bronx, is that right? Kenny Silvan, Long Island, NY

Author's reply: Yes, and it takes place in the early Eighties to about 1990.

Eagerly awaiting your next book. A fan in Miami

Just read your memoir. Sorry I waited so long!! I'm half in tears, half hysterical laughing. Thanks for writing this. A fan in Brooklyn, New York: B.G.

Brenda: We met at the Brandeis Book and Author Luncheon...I was so impressed with the book and its capability to reach and interest a larger audience. M.G.

Dear Brenda:
You have no idea how this book has opened up the memories that I never shared with anyone...It is something to know there are others that have gone through what you have.  Bless you for putting it in print. Sincerely, N.A., March 6, 2008

Dear Brenda, I am a reader from Istanbul ,Turkey.The reason I chose to read your book was that one part of you belongs to Turkey, where I was born, and the opther part of your life belongs to New York, the city I adore and have strong connections with as a part of my family lives there. I am glad to have read your book. I am truly inspired by your courage as a child in fighting your illness. It's a warm book that touches one's heart. Keep on writing please.

I will, thank you! And I'm glad you enjoyed my stories. I'm almost done with my second book, a novel, and part of it touches on the plight of Greek Jews from Salonica during the Second World War. Brenda

Dear Brenda:
I was so moved by reading your Grand Concourse article in Back In The Bronx that I got a copy of
The Fortune Teller's Kiss and recently completed it. In many ways I feel I know you personally. I also went to PS 64 and Taft (56)...What I was most moved by in reading your life story, was the tremendous courage you exhibited in overcoming the ravages of polio...Nevertheless, you persevered and have made remarkable progress in you life. Awesome! It was a real pleasure meeting you this way. In many ways you never really leave The (Beautiful) Bronx.

In peace and gratitude, David

Hi Brenda, I read your article in Back in the Bronx. I too lived at 1475 Sheridan Avenue, and went to Taft H.S. from 1965-1968. We probably cross path at one time or another in the building. The 50's and 60's were a glorious time to be a Bronxite. It's great to read about a fellow Bronxite who made good, but we all made good having that childhood. R. Soohoo

Brenda: What I love most about you is that you see the world from a different angle than most and describe it clearly and with a wonderful, wry sense of humor. Cher

I find your strength and growth trully amazing. I don't know anyone else who has gone from secretary, to educator, to author with such talent that you have shown. It is really a gift. Mr. D., Bronx, NY

Wow! After reading your memoir, I have nothing but respect for your abilities to survive and thrive in the face of adversity. You are tough, observant, and filled with love. We the audience are blessed to encounter your creations. Thank you for your hard work! Vic, from the Bronx

Dear Brenda:
I wanted to thank you again for speaking at our library. EVERYONE said how much they enjoyed your book and your book talk. It was fascinating and you are a wonderful speaker. Warmly, Wendy Parkland Library

Hello Brenda:
I have been reading “The Fortune Teller's Kiss.” I bought it from you the day you spoke at Posnack JCC on February 27, and you inscribed it in Ladino. I love it. I am another Sephard from the area of the Bronx you grew up in. I, too went to P.S. 64 and I remember the Polio Pioneers. One of my cousins took part in the immunizations. I think I am about 10 years older than you, give or take.
I think I knew your Aunt Alice; I recognize her picture, and Doris, in your book. I [also] remember her bring loukoum [Turkish Delites candies], when she visited. I looked forward to that…My mother always taught: “You never go empty-handed,” and I think that was one of the social mores of the Sephardim. At any rate, I had to share my extraordinary experience looking at the pictures in your book. Small world.
–Best regards, Joyce Amir Ben-Ezra

Dear Brenda: Just finished reading "The Fortune Teller's Kiss" - in 2 days! Could not put your book down! I had to google you and contact you. Your book is compelling, fast-reading, filled with courage. Thank you for sharing your story with the world. Your writing is honest and straightforward - couldn't wait to read what came next. Congratulations. I am a belly dancer. For the past 31 years, I've studied belly dance, performed all over the world and today train professional and amateur dancers in Manhattan. Would love to meet you, hear you lecture or do a book reading. Wishing you the best for the new year.
Sandra C., New York City

Dear Ms. Serotte, I heard you speak at the Brandeis Women's luncheon at Diamonte's last March, and I'm still thinking about your words. Wonderful! You were an inspiration, and I finally got to your book. I LOVE it! Can't wait for the next one!
Best regards, Myrna Weinstein, Plantation, Florida

Dear Brenda,it took me a while to get back to you. I'm so so happy for you. Did you ever dream that "The Fortune Teller's Kiss" would make you an star? That's encouraging for all of us dreamers. I keep missing your presentations but I know you are a long way from being done in Florida. Does your new novel have a name? And keep rolling, go for the sequence of The Fortune . . .
Warm hugs, Zenaida, Boca Raton

Thanks for the kind wishes! Hope to see you at a presentation soon! Brenda

I loved your story and wished their had been an epilogue to tell us about your life now! Are your parents still alive? Did you marry? Do you have a relationship with your brother? Are there any physical remnants of your childhood polio? What aspects of the "old country ways" did you incorporate in your life? Thanks for sharing your touching story. Fran, Owings Mills, MD

Author's comment: Dear Fran: Thanks so much for writing to tell me your thoughts. I do appreciate hearing from readers! Many people have written asking about my life after polio, so many, in fact, that I am considering, by popular demand, a sequel memoir! I'm finishing a novel now, and then, we'll see...What I can say here is that my Nona Behora apparently gave me some gifts of ESP...more to come...and sadly, my parents are no longer alive, but have read my memoir in another place and are happy that I wrote it. Stay tuned!

Brenda: The craft of your writing is so amazing! I absolutely LOVED your book, and have given it to two people already. Congratulations on this beautiful story.
Goldie, Miami, Florida

Dear Ms. Serotte: I loved "The Fortune Teller's Kiss," and I laughed and cried. I grew up in Brooklyn in the 1950s, but it could have been any of the boroughs. From one New Yorker to another: You did a great job!
Alan Seidelman

Happy New Year! I read your book in one sitting; couldn't put it down. What a feat! You must write a sequel! Any plans for that?
Marcia S., Huntington, Long Island, New York

Author's response: Hold on, I'm comin'! Sort of an autobiographical novel in the works...1980s...

I just loved, LOVED, this memoir! I laughed, I cried, I want more! Are you going to continue with your off-beat Sephardic family story? Hope so!
Devia Smith, Queens, NY

Kudos, Brenda! You have "the knack" of painting vivid images that drew me right in to your life. I felt as if I were there, experiencing it with you! What an extraordinary childhood - very poignant reading. I'm looking forward to the sequel!!
Rhona Lewis Bronx, New York

Brenda:
So interesting to go back in time, see the world through their eyes...and you did a great job telling the story with great humor that reflected the Sephardic Jews of the Ottoman Empire.
--Roz Kohen Drohobyczer, St. Louis, MO.

I am interested to know your current views on religion/spirituality. Do you participate in any formal religious traditions or practices?
Rhona Lewis Bronx, New York

Author's response: I am not "formally" religious, but I feel the presence of a Higher Power in my life, day by day, and it's stronger when I give to others and not expect a lot for myself. This, I consider to be true spirituality, and I strive for it.

Very moving and beautiful. You don't know me, but my mother met you at the Barnes & Noble booksigning in Plantation, and gave me your book to read. We both loved it. I laughed and cried.
Sincerely, Flora D.

Brenda, I just finished your book and, as the father of a daughter, I must say, I cried at certain passages--and couldn't stop. Beautifully done!
Gary in Miami

Are you going to write more stories about the Bronx? (A Bronx Gal)

Look for an article one of these days in "Back in the Bronx" magazine. Also, my novel-in-progress has a lot to do with the Bronx and with Peru. bls

Comment from a Reader, July '06: Loved THE FORTUNE TELLER'S KISS! Great history lesson, great story. Thanks for sharing! When is your next book coming out?
Rosie Tucker

Working on it, Rosie! Thanks for your comments! bls

What are you working on now, if I may ask? Doreen, aka, Cousin "DuDu" in Ladino

(My answer):A novel about a brother and sister bond, Peru, love, and the 1980s...sort of. Don't want to say too much about it at this stage.

Was the part about the gypsies in Rockaway Beach really true?
Cousin Ralph, Long Beach, New York

(The author answers): You bet! Although dialogue is often "re-created" in memoir--who can remember EXACT conversations, from decades past, really?--I feel passionately about this: If a writer gives the genre title "Memoir" to a piece of writing, it must be 100% TRUE, at least from that writer's memory. The day in question, with the gypsies, actually happened to me, and I wrote it how I remembered it.

My favorite line: "It wasn't what you'd call a normal American life,...When I came home from school, guess who greeted me? Six Turkish women, sitting around in a circle, sewing. And guess what they were sewing? Their shrouds!" They say there are eight million stories in the Naked City. Yours shines through with stinging humor and realism. Not to mention courage. Congratulations on melding the chaos of your early years into a fabulously funny and bittersweet cultural milieu!
Ross from Seattle, WA

Brenda your memories of your colorful and delicious Turkish family is something to savor. I have read your book twice and some parts more. It's a truly wonderful book of your heritage and your strength and courage that has shaped you into the beautiful talented woman you are today.
Cora

Dear Brenda, You have written a miracle -- the book that my wife would have written as her autobiography. She lived at 179th and Walton Ave. Instead of polio,she had an accident to her foot that put her in children's hospitals and the retreat up in Westchester, where she learned to love the other children, not to cry, and to wave to her friends who were not permitted to come closer than the roadway because of fear of infection. Her father treated her as his special beloved. The only big difference was that Nona was a very loving woman Rockaway was the summer place for many years. A little bit of heaven that even I, a goy, got to know and enjoy. Thank you very, very much. I am still rationing my enjoyment to one chapter a day so I have not finished it yet. It is a delight -- really a blessing.
Bill Williamson

I read the exerpts and poem and you have made all of my mother's Bronx memories and some of my own come to life again, reminding me of tiny Sephardic women who wore evil eye necklaces and pinched my cheeks and the men who played cards and Backgammon, all of whom spoke Ladino so us "criaturas" wouldn't understand. Can't wait to buy the book!!
Sincerely, "Cynthia the violin player's" daughter, Lisa

Howard and I share your joy! Well done Brenda,you are a credit to all Polio Survivors. Spectacular website, absolutely spectacular. Can't wait to exchange tales about the multitude of Pisco Sours I drank in the lounge of the Crillon Hotel....or to share my experiences in Lima during that dreadful earthquake in the early seventies.I will get an order in right away for our copy of your book.
Jane & Howard Mades

Hey Brenda! You know I love you and am so excited about your website and the upcoming release of your book. You have waited a long time for this, and I've waited a long time to read it! It's so close now. Can't wait til spring! Marcy (Ft. Lauderdale, FL)

hey! I really enjoy the formatting of this webite--it is creative. It feels like you are reading a newspaper with the columns! Very clever. Kristin Byrne

dear bren, kudos on these impressive literary feats.i am so happy for you and i look forward to more touching reads from my friend. these writings are the real soul within in you. enjoy. enjoy. love you, ricki d.

having been and grown at the granja azul in lima peru....the short passage really described it to perfection...specially the part about all being drunk by the time the chicken arrived...been there done that james frank, lima peru

I,m so delighted and excited for you. You've waited a long time for this. Can't wait to read the book. I know it will bring back many memories for me. Congratulations! Denise

Bravo, my friend! A great website, an inciteful poem, and a great photo! Can't wait for the book! Your Bronx "partner in crime", Ellen

This sounds like a read that will broaden my horizons and sensitivity having grown up in the 50's and knowing the polio scare of that time. Good luck Brenda. Cora, The Bronx

What a wonderfully unique and expressive body of work...can't wait to read "The Fortune Teller's Kiss"! Victor from Seattle

I am so excited and happy for you, and yet so jealous! You must be (rather, should be) floating. If seeing these volumes in print doesn't bring you fulfillment, satisfaction and inner peace, I absolutely give up. I can't wait to read and savor your work, and for the world to discover(more of)your amazing talents. Mazel Tov and Felicidades. Love, Barbara

Dear Brenda, What a pleasure to hear about you after all this time. I am happy for you, seeing that you have been so productive. Anyada buena con salud cumplida. Great Website Brenda. David Altabe

Note: the writer is my esteemed teacher of Ladino, along with David Siman, at University of Miami, 1996-7.