Bertha Speaks Out

By Fran Lewis

About the book

Growing up was difficult for me being overweight, too quiet and really afraid to speak out in order to defend myself. In this book Bertha learns that she needs to let her voice be heard and no longer allows herself to be the scapegoat. Not everyone is beautiful, looks like a model or even dances like the pros, but everyone in the world every child and adult is good at something. Find out what your strengths are and build on them and success will be yours.

Bertha also learns in this book how to deal with a family members disease and how she and her sister Tillie work together to help the other members of her family when grandma gets Alzheimers.

I hope that you enjoy reading about Bertha and Tillie and learn that there is a little bit of her in everyone.

Love
Bertha, Tillie and Fran Lewis

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Sep 12, 2008
• ISBN: 9781462803392

Fran Lewis

Fran Lewis: Fran worked in the NYC Public Schools as the Reading and Writing Staff Developer for over 36 years. She has three masters degrees and a PD in Supervision and Administration. Currently, she is a member of Who's Who of America's Teachers and Who's Who of America's Executives from Cambridge. In addition, she is the author of three children's books and a fourth that has just been published on Alzheimer's disease in order to honor her mom and help create more awareness for a cure. The title of my new Alzheimer’s book is Memories are Precious: Alzheimer’s Journey; Ruth’s storyShe was the musical director for shows in her school and ran the school's newspaper. Fran writes reviews for authors upon request and for several other sites. You can read some of my reviews on Ezine.com and on ijustfinished.com under the name Gabina. I am a member of Whos Who of Americas Teachers and Whos Who of America’s Executives and Professionals on Cambridge. I review books for authors upon request. My goal is to get my books published by a traditional publisher and on the shelves of every school library, hospital and bookstore. I host two radio shows on Blog Talk Radio. Book Discussion with Fran Lewis is on Blog Talk every third Wednesday of the month from three to five eastern. My children’s author’s show is four times a year. I host online book blogs and book tours for authors and I review books for authors throughout the world. I have published six books the last Because We Care in memory of my sister Marcia. The proceeds going to find the cause and cure for Alzheimer’s.

Book preview

Copyright © 2008 by Fran Lewis.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the

copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

48390

Contents

Are We There Yet?

Middle School: Poor Bertha

Bertha’s Fitness Plan

Bertha, JT, the Frogs and the Skunk

Mistakes Are Okay Except if You’re Bertha

The Contest

Bertha and Alzheimer’s: Life as I See It

DEDICATION

To my grandmother, Bertha Swerdloff. She was a very special woman and worked hard all her life to take care of her four children after my grandfather died. All my life, I was told that I reminded everyone of her in how she looked, acted, and spoke. This book is for her, and for all those children out there who give it their all and always try to be the best they can—I dedicate this to you all.

I also want to dedicate this book to my mom, Ruth Swerdloff; although she has Alzheimer’s and does not understand that I wrote a book about her and my family, I know that somehow in her own way she is proud of me. I dedicate this book to you, Mom, from Fran, Marcia, and Keith, your children, and your wonderful grandchildren, Jamie, Jason, DJ, Josh, Jake, Dani, Casey, Kati Rose, Carly, Robbie, and Cade.

A special thank you to my hairdresser, Tony, who always makes me look beautiful. Thank you to the staff at Luigi’s on Allerton Avenue in the Bronx. You are truly the best. Thank you to my husband, Jeff, for supporting me in this project. I could not have done it without you.

Love,

Fran and Bertha

Are We There Yet?

48390-LEWI-layout.pdf

I hate riding in a car. I really hate riding in the back of a car. Why do I hate riding in a car you ask? I get and have always gotten carsick. Not only do I get carsick, but also the poor person sitting next to me has to hope that I have good aim when I finally do get sick and spill my guts all over the inside and outside of the car. I have told my parents and my sister, Tillie, that I have to sit in the front of the car or at least next to a window, but who listens to me? I tell them that I should not eat anything before traveling for long periods of time, but no one hears me until it is too late.

It all starts every year when we would go to the country for summer vacation. We would pile into my dad’s car, and we head for April’s Sunrise Cottages in Monticello. The first half hour was fine; we played word games, sang songs, and counted how many cows and horses we spotted along the way. When we had traveled about one hour, my dad decided to stop at the Red Apple Rest for lunch. I told my parents that I was beginning to feel nauseous and should not really eat a lot. He said that it might take until dinnertime to get to our destination, and he knew how much I liked to eat. I liked to eat, but I really didn’t want my lunch to be a car decoration for everyone to see when we arrived at our summer home. I really didn’t need my cousins to start laughing at me when they saw my lunch all over the outside of my dad’s car. However, I am only eleven years old, and I have to follow what my parents say. So, I ate lunch and dessert just to teach them and everyone else in the car a really good lesson. Listen to Bertha when she says that she should eat lightly before traveling, or pay the consequences. After eating a grilled cheese sandwich and fries (my favorite lunch), I ate a salty pretzel and washed it down with a chocolate egg cream. I bought some Milky Way bars to keep me happy during the rest of the trip. They asked for it, and they would surely get it for not listening to me.

After lunch, we all piled back into my dad’s car, and I asked my sister, Tillie, and my cousin Annie to let me sit near a window; but they would not. I sat squashed in the middle between my skinny sister and my not-so-skinny cousin. Although she was not as heavy as I am at 160 pounds, she was no lightweight either. This made it doubly hard for me to get any air in the back of the car, even though my parents opened the tiny window in the back of the car. After riding for about fifteen minutes, I told my dad that if he would not stop really soon, the back of his car would be covered with my lunch and so would everyone back there. He told me there was no shoulder on the road, and he could not waste time stopping. He said I should just take some deep breaths and I would be fine. Not really. I could not help what happened next. My sister Tillie was sitting next to me on the right, and I leaned over her to get to the window to try to poke my head out in