Re: David W. Berner's 'Lessons' from the school of life

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: The website address has been corrected in this story to: davidwberner.com : : ------------------------------ : : 'Lessons' from the school of life : : Julia Keller | CULTURAL CRITIC : : July 26, 2009 : : Overnight, or so it seemed to David W. Berner, he lost everything: The 52-year-old Naperville resident was laid off from his job as a radio journalist, received word of his father's terminal illness and realized his marriage was over. So he started all over again, becoming a teacher at East Aurora High School, which he describes as "one of the Chicago area's most troubled," filled with "difficult, sometimes unruly students, some with histories of violence or neglect." : : Berner (davidwberner.com), father of two sons, wrote "Accidental Lessons: A Memoir of a Rookie Teacher and a Life Renewed" (Strategic) about his experiences. : : Here's an edited transcript of a conversation with Berner, who, since leaving East Aurora, has been teaching at Columbia College Chicago: : : : : Q. Writing a memoir is difficult, isn't it? : : A. Yes. First, I had no plans for writing this. I'd come back from teaching at East Aurora, and tell my family stories about it. I had a lot of people tell me, "Are you writing this down?" I began to write it down, feeling obligated. I thought, "Maybe I should be more formal about it." I was slightly reluctant, being from the journalism world, to open myself up like that. I knew I had to be honest. Go deep. You have to go deep, to get to the good stuff. : : : : Q. What was your writing process? : : A. I found a pattern. I'd get up really early on Saturday and Sunday. I'd work for several hours -- sometimes at home, sometimes at Starbucks. I'd be very uncritical of myself at that time. I'd just write. I had a fairly rough outline, but it wasn't really worked out. I just knew where I wanted to go. One thing I found when I started to write it: It wasn't a teacher's story. It was about rediscovering yourself. Finding a new passion. : : : : Q. Have you heard from your former students? : : A. Oh, yes. And from the teachers [laughs]. One of them, I've heard, wasn't too happy. : : : : Q. What are you working on now? : : A. Essays on fatherhood. About fathers and sons. And I just started on a novel. Very daunting -- as a journalist, I never had to make stuff up.

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