You made alive what most of us have only read in history books.  I shed tears over the “disappeared Steinfelds.”

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I did enjoy your book very much.  The timing of your escape reminds me of suspenseful fiction--only it was real.

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Thank you for putting so much work into making this contribution to Hartford and our combined cultural Jewish history.

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One locomotive cheer for Irene Levin Berman...I quickly became absorbed in your book and have read it from beginning to end in 24 hours. It is clear that much labor went into its production and it is clearly a labor of love...I have always felt that life was a series of "what ifs"...what if Sweden and Norway didn't share a common border? What if Sweden had not been a neutral country?...Your ancestors fled persecution elsewhere and ended up in Norway; My ancestors, in an earlier generation, fled Eastern Europe and Russia and ended up on the lower East Side of NYC.....Seems the Jews were always fleeing somewhere...very nice work, very well done...

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Irene, I have just finished reading your book and I think it’s wonderful!  What a warm, personal and totally engaging (although awfully sad) story.  We understand a lot more about Norway as a result.

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It's hard not to sound trite, but Pick Potatoes is an extraordinary book.  Congratulations!

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We have both finished reading…"We Are Going to Pick Potatoes."  What a perfect title for your book!  It was all so interesting; I was totally absorbed in it and learned so much about the Holocaust, your life in Sweden and Norway, and your family.

LP

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Just finished your book and am appreciative of its fluidity, passionate expression, and disciplined research.  I am raving about it to all my contacts as a must read.  Good luck in New York.  As my grandson would remark, the book is not a 10-it is definitely a 1,000!!!!!!

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I just finished “We are Going to Pick Potatoes.”  There is so much I want to say to you.  First, I’m glad you have shared this particular view of the Holocaust with English-language readers; most people have no awareness of what goes on in small, relatively quiet countries, so we see the world and history only as series and sets of sensational headlines.  Second, even though I of course knew the general story and the “ending,” your prose style drove the narrative like the best kind of suspense thriller.  I had to keep reading to find out not only what was going to happen to these characters but, equally, to learn more about them and their relationships with each other and the world that was out of control around them.  I know you are a brilliant translator but had no idea you were such a talented writer of original work.  I have been proud to know you and count you as a friend.  But now I’m almost speechless.  What a gift you’ve given us with this story.  Thank you so much.

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Your book.  I finished it a few days ago.  I can understand how totally absorbed you were.  The story is from your heart.  I feel it in every sentence.  It's beautifully written, just the right mix.  What is and isn't so hard to understand is the shroud of silence.  It used to be that way with cancer.  You couldn't mention it.  One would think that once the Nazis were gone, the survivors would shout from the rooftops “you filthy sons of bitches, you murdered my relatives.”  But I can see how they wanted to resume their lives, among their countrymen without digging too deeply with relief that they survived...  You have done a great thing by memorializing your relatives.