No Place Like Home: A Memoir in 39 Apartments by Brooke Berman/Harmony Books/2010/pgs251/ Memoir/Women Coming of Age/New York/Theater-Art Life In this engaging chronology spanning twenty years, from college to hard-won success, Berman, the award-winning playwright tells her story of searching for home. The once-aspiring performing artist explores the world through vastly different New York neighborhoods, a series of part-time jobs, an enviable stint at Julliard, and slowly increasing acclamation.
She recognizes an undeniable wish in herself to separate from her mother, a wish complicated by the bonds of family and shared history. Even after surviving being raped in her early twenties, and insisting on independence to the point of being homeless and penniless, she is consumed for years in a yo-yo like love affair with Rodney, the wonderless wanderer.
Her writing moves fluidly as she schleps from studio to loft to the occasional luxury apartment. Angst and the unknown become her constant companions, draining energy from her while creating guidance for the reader into Berman's emotional well-being.
The chapters are divided between each dwelling, taking the reader all over New York neighborhoods, boroughs and into the New England states. The overarching message shines through, home is much more than an address and there is no place like home.
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