Books
Wisdom Of The Century
Wisdom of the Century is not just a coffee table book; it is a testament to the resilience, diversity, and wisdom of 90 remarkable individuals in Florida, over the age of 90. This project brings to life the experiences and teachings of these nonagenarians and centenarians through beautiful storytelling and artistic photography, preserving their wisdom for future generations.
The Wisdom of the Century team consists of Sandra Coiffman, the founder, Merle R. Saferstein, the author, Pipe Yangua, the photographer, and Jenny Menzel, the designer. We embarked on a mission to capture the essence of a generation that has witnessed unparalleled changes and challenges. The book highlights the lives of individuals who have lived through wars, pandemics, economic downturns, and technological advancements. Their stories provide invaluable lessons about love, life, and legacy.
The Wisdom of the Century aims to immortalize the rich experiences of its subjects, offering a source of inspiration and learning for future generations. It celebrates life, resilience, and the shared human experience, emphasizing the importance of remembering and honoring our elders’ contributions.
To order the book, go to wisdomofthecentury.com.
PRAISE FOR WISDOM OF THE CENTURY
Having just turned 82 this year, I am not yet old enough to attain this level of 90-and-over wisdom. I have two hopes: (1) live at least eight years more to reach this great goal, and (2) once having reached this number, to come close to being as wise as they are. What might get me close is growing up in a loving and learning family, having my own loving and learning family, all the good books (especially history and biographies) I’ve read, and taking the time to listen, really listen, especially to those who look at the world often quite differently from myself.
These are really smart people. Even better, they are wise.
—David Lawrence Jr.,
Retired Miami Herald publisher and chair of The Children’s Movement of Florida
We live in a time flooded with rapid sound bites, clicks, swipes, and the often vacuous voices of so-called influencers, where we are in danger of losing the true values and ideas that make us happy, successful, and fulfilled. Who better to remind us of these values, this wisdom, than our elders, who, looking back across not only their own lives, but that of parents, grandparents, and communities of friends, personally represent as much as 150 or more years of the human experience. Bringing these images and voices to the rest of us is a bold and generous work of passion, well worth a moment or two each day to read, reflect, absorb, and celebrate the best of us.
—Grant Lichtman,
Educator and author
Wisdom of the Century is a beautiful collection of personal stories, words of wisdom, and captivating photographs, which reflect the unique spirit of each nonagenarian and centenarian featured in the book. Additionally, the collection celebrates the diverse backgrounds and experiences of each of the participants as they share similar words and life lessons that they believe are ingredients to leading a long and fulfilling life. Wisdom of the Century is an inspiring and delightful book that should be shared with current and future generations.
—Carol Shaw Burns, Ph.D.,
Senior living executive
Time is our best teacher. Those of us who have been gifted with an abundance of it are obliged to share our journeys with those we leave behind. Wisdom of the Century is more than just a beautifully crafted coffee table book; it’s a treasure trove of life lessons waiting to be discovered.
—Dr. Marvin Dunn,
Historian
We have all smiled at the wit and truth of the saying that youth is wasted on the young. This book shares the wisdom one can only come by after decades of lessons from life and God. By sharing them, they offer a way not to waste youth but rather to flourish in it.
—Howard Finkelstein,
Retired public defender, 7 News legal expert, Help Me Howard
“Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with what happens to you.” This quote by famed author Aldous Huxley reminds me of the wonderful personal accomplishments of men and women shared in this book. Wisdom of the Century is about life, and those who have reached the tenth decade are a cause for celebration and admiration. The people in the photos represent decades of experience, and with experience comes wisdom. They share precious moments and remarkable insights as they reminisce about the past with words for the present.
—Carol Damian, Ph.D.,
Art historian
Living & Leaving My Legacy, Vol. II
Foreword by Sheryl Sandberg
Living and Leaving My Legacy, Vol. II
Foreword by Sheryl Sandberg
As a teenager, I kept journals, but those were lost long ago in a family move. In 1974, I reconnected with the joy of journaling and became a serious journal writer, having filled over 380 journals since then. Once I decided not to bequeath my journals to anyone, I came up with an alternative plan—a legacy journal project. I sorted through thousands and thousands of pages and found meaningful excerpts to share with others. Somewhere along the way, this morphed into Living and Leaving My Legacy, Volumes I and II.
When I began, I chose seventy relevant topics, eventually narrowing it down to twenty-two. Initially, each subject was roughly 75–450 pages and taken from journals dated between 1974–2016. After careful editing, I have chosen to include the excerpts that best capture my thoughts, feelings, conversations, encounters, memories, dreams, travel adventures, and more. There are two volumes. The first volume was released in June 2022 and the second volume released June 2023.
Hopefully, sharing some of my life lessons in these two books will prove valuable to others. Both volumes of Living and Leaving My Legacy, are a form of legacy journaling.
Praise for
Living and Leaving My Legacy, Vol. II
“Living and Leaving My Legacy, Vol. II is a meaningful, compelling treasure. Merle Saferstein’s experiences working with Holocaust survivors, hospice and cancer patients, and students in her legacy classes give readers great insight and wisdom. What she writes helps me, and will help you, look inward to reflect on the meaning of life.”
David Lawrence Jr.,
Retired Miami Herald publisher and chair of The Children’s Movement of Florida
“Socrates taught: ‘The unexamined life is not worth living.’ Merle Saferstein’s glimpse into her voluminous journals is proof of that adage. Writing her thoughts and chronicling her experiences virtually day by day has enabled her to recall, reflect, and share her journey. We can be grateful as she invites us into her life and friendships, her travels and her travails, her costs and struggles, her loves and her passions—all that makes life worthwhile. Her work with Holocaust survivors and with death and dying gives a special poignancy to this work, as she wrestles with ultimate issues.
“In Biblical terms, one who is four score years reaches the years of their wisdom. Though but slightly shy of that milestone, Merle has been wise for a very long time. Read this book and you will understand how one might live life with wisdom and understand the discipline it takes to examine and reexamine one’s life. How blessed we are with what she has shared. I found myself moved, encouraged, and coaxed into reexamining my own life as you will as well."
Dr. Michael Berenbaum,
Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies, Director of Sigi Ziering Institute, American Jewish University, Los Angeles
“In the second volume of Living and Leaving My Legacy, Merle Saferstein shows us how to honor the memories that give our lives meaning, and how to explore the treasures of what we’ve learned and the people who have made our lives richer. What a significant legacy this is: the lessons, all that we’ve witnessed, and how we carry parts of each other with us forever. The book reminds us that we too can capture our lives through keeping and exploring our journals, and what such a worthy endeavor that can offer us later in our lives.”
“In Biblical terms, one who is four score years reaches the years of their wisdom. Though but slightly shy of that milestone, Merle has been wise for a very long time. Read this book and you will understand how one might live life with wisdom and understand the discipline it takes to examine and reexamine one’s life. How blessed we are with what she has shared. I found myself moved, encouraged, and coaxed into reexamining my own life as you will as well."
Linda Joy Myers,
Founder and president of the National Association of Memoir Writers, and author of Don’t Call Me Mother and Song of the Plains
“In her book, Living and Leaving My Legacy, Vol. II, Merle Saferstein shares wisdom and lessons learned through journal entries spanning several decades of her life’s journey. ‘On Death and Dying’ is a chapter dedicated to exploring a topic too often hidden in silence, something all of us will experience in our lives, grief. Her honest reflections, observations, and moments of learning and teaching are captured in this chapter reflecting statements and questions so often thought or stated by people in mourning.
“From personal losses to hospice and grief support, Merle validates the thoughts and feelings many of us have or will experience and honors traditions and culture through a lens of curiosity, free of judgement. Attending to important grief topics ranging from anticipatory grief to continuing bonds, Merle honors the pain of loss and the growth of
learning and honoring the memory of people we cherish that defines the duality in grief that most call the roller coaster or waves of emotions. The journal prompts at the conclusion of the chapter encourage similar reflection, questioning, and self-compassion for the reader to externalize their own grief in a connected and meaningful way.
“Through her various roles in life, from griever to observer to guide, Merle speaks to the reader through her journal entries and makes meaning from her observations in an homage to the eternal question of why. This book should be on the shelf of anyone who self-guides their own mental health or who supports the mental health of others as a demystification of what journaling is and how to construct meaning from beginning the process of journaling for yourself.”
“In Biblical terms, one who is four score years reaches the years of their wisdom. Though but slightly shy of that milestone, Merle has been wise for a very long time. Read this book and you will understand how one might live life with wisdom and understand the discipline it takes to examine and reexamine one’s life. How blessed we are with what she has shared. I found myself moved, encouraged, and coaxed into reexamining my own life as you will as well."
Lisa Zucker,
MSW, LCSW, Certified Thanatologist, Practice Owner of GriefTREE: Therapy, Resources, Education, & Events for Grief and Trauma
“While many books are written in journal format, Living and Leaving My Legacy, Vol. II is unique. What makes her work unparalleled is how Merle R. Saferstein shares a variety of excerpts from her 359 journals in topic and chronological form. Saferstein is a pioneer in the field of legacy journaling, and this book is an excellent way for her, a legacy educator, to help readers understand the value of journaling and legacy work.”
Rebecca Kochenderfer,
founder, Journaling.com
“Merle Saferstein’s second volume of Living and Leaving My Legacy deepens her quest of how to live a meaningful life and leave a legacy. Her monumental endeavor, condensing 359 volumes from a period of 42 years, is a gift to all her readers. She inspires us to examine our own lives in light of the open and honest recording of her experiences. She not only helps us think about legacy but leaves us with many suggestions on how we can undertake such a project, including how to plan an ethical will.”
Gabrielle Robinson,
author of Api’s Berlin Diaries
“Like foil-wrapped pieces in a chocolate box, Merle Saferstein’s thoughts and meditations should be savored slowly, one by one. They reveal a woman making sense of herself and her place in the world—while also providing a roadmap for us through her generous journal prompts.”
Ana Veciana-Suarez,
syndicated columnist, and author of Dulcinea
“Merle Saferstein has done an incredible favor for the reader and for humanity in general. Her new book, Living and Leaving My Legacy, Vol. II, indeed is a treasure! Saferstein gives us a detailed portrayal of not only testimonies and brief biographies of Holocaust survivors she worked with for over two decades, but also a guide for the reader on how best to live our lives with kindness and empathy. I urge you to read this wonderfully inspiring book. It will perhaps change your life only for the better. We, the survivors, are more than grateful to Merle R. Saferstein for all her years of dedication to us and for preserving our memories and lives by writing this incredible and amazing memoir.”
Dr. Miriam Klein Kassenoff,
director of Holocaust Teacher Institute, School of Education, University of Miami and child survivor of The Nazi Holocaust of 1933-1945
“Over the past year, I have been immersed in Marcel Proust’s, In Search of Lost Time. In reading this compelling compilation of Merle Saferstein’s journal entries, I have begun to discover those moments that I had lost over my lifetime, that I have found in the midst of her narrative. I am inspired to write my memories that pop up as I read entries that evoke events in my life and the people I have known and the places I have experienced. Reading this expressive intimate narrative will resonate with all the vibrations of your life and bring back the melody of memories and the rhythms that underly their truths. Read on; wander and weep; sojourn and smile and remember to wonder at the legacy of your own life’s journey.”
Rabbi Cheryl Weiner,
PhD, BCC, staff chaplain, Greater Miami Jewish Federation and hospice chaplain, AccentCare, Inc. Broward
“Just as she did in Vol. I, Merle Saferstein offers readers an intimate glimpse into a life fully lived and examined in Living and Leaving My Legacy, Vol. II. We follow her journal entries over the course of decades, separated into distinct themes that allow us to track her evolution in a variety of aspects, with each chapter revealing yet another dimension of a multi-faceted life.
“Like tree rings, Merle’s journal entries chronicle the seasons of her life, and her reflections will inevitably reveal something to you about your own.
“In this volume especially, she actively encourages us to consider our own legacies and to proactively distill what is most important to us in life and share this in some meaningful form with those we love.
“Taken by itself, or along with the preceding volume, this is an extraordinary book you will feel privileged to read. Be moved, and changed, by it."
Eric Teplitz,
life coach and host of the podcast The Person You Want to Be
“Merle Saferstein’s book is a precious gift brimming with life lessons. It has touched my heart, mind, and soul, showcasing the value, power, joy, and glory of journaling. Merle offers us a unique perspective on time, reminding us to stay present in the moment. Additionally, she shares the importance of relationships, loyalty, connection, and vulnerability. Her work with the Holocaust Documentation and Education Center is a testament to her commitment to remembering and honoring the survivors and making a difference in the world.
“Living and Leaving My Legacy, Vol. II is thought-provoking, inspiring, and practical. She invites us to reflect on our lives through her words, thoughts, vision, insight, and life’s work. We can all relate to her journal entries, as she shares the universality of change through the passage of time, human emotions, struggles, losses, and perseverance. She opens up her thoughts in a vulnerable and heartfelt way, giving us an opportunity to reflect on our own lives with honesty and insight.
“As a psychologist, I believe that Merle’s book is invaluable. I began journaling after reading her first volume, which has been life changing. Her journal entries and prompts at the end of each chapter provide a path to awareness and transformation. Her courage to share her inner life with the world is inspiring. Her gratitude, life’s work, strength, and perseverance to follow her dream and make it a reality embody what it means to live and leave a legacy.”
Sandra Coiffman,
PsyD, founder of the Wisdom of the Century project and founder of Waves of Wellness Healing Circles
“Living and Leaving My Legacy, Vol. II is a captivating journey through the author’s full and productive life, travels, relationships, and outstanding lifetime of service. Her reflection on community, national, and global headline events provide a well-written memoir and sobering thoughts on our world covering almost fifty years. Ms. Saferstein’s honest and sincere thoughts, feelings, and questions through journal prompts invoke introspection about life and death. Her chapter, ‘On Death and Dying,’ draws the reader into a rich exploration of one’s own mortality, the challenges of grief, and the immense struggle for survivors to cope and remain resilient. This is indeed an extremely compelling book with sparkling inspiration for all of us to live our best life ever.”
Patricia Stauber-Klein,
RN, LCSW, Bereavement and Trauma Specialist
“Truly—‘How you live your life becomes your legacy.’ Merle Saferstein’s latest work, Living and Leaving My Legacy, Vol. II, teaches us this wisdom. I know of no one who is a greater champion for the process of journaling. Over the span of twenty years, Saferstein has culled through her 359 journals and found great insights and reflections on how she has lived and learned from this process. From relationships to the Holocaust survivor experiences, to her own journey as a writer, we learn there are threads in all of our lives that help ground and define our life story. We learn that when we hold and reflect on our stories, we can grow and find meaning. Merle has done this, and in this book, she models for us how to journal, find self, and create our own meaningful legacy. I celebrate this beautiful work!”
Sandra Marinella,
teacher and author of The Story You Need to Tell
“Truly—‘How you live your life becomes your legacy.’ Merle Saferstein’s latest work, Living and Leaving My Legacy, Vol. II, teaches us this wisdom. I know of no one who is a greater champion for the process of journaling. Over the span of twenty years, Saferstein has culled through her 359 journals and found great insights and reflections on how she has lived and learned from this process. From relationships to the Holocaust survivor experiences, to her own journey as a writer, we learn there are threads in all of our lives that help ground and define our life story. We learn that when we hold and reflect on our stories, we can grow and find meaning. Merle has done this, and in this book, she models for us how to journal, find self, and create our own meaningful legacy. I celebrate this beautiful work!”
Sandra Marinella,
teacher and author of The Story You Need to Tell
“In Living and Leaving My Legacy, Vol. II, Merle Saferstein brings to light the journey of questioning to acceptance in matters of death, dying, grief, and loss and finds a way to bring peace to the soul with meaning making and purpose in our connections with one another. Most importantly, she humanizes the journey and provides a safe harbor to emotional pain, articulating what so many of us struggle to understand. Reading her words is like having a comforting friend along the way, especially in life’s most painful moments.”
Russell Hilliard,
PhD, LCSW, LCAT, MT-BC, CHRC, CHC, CCTP, Senior VP, Market Expansion Initiatives, AccentCare
Living and Leaving My Legacy, Vol. I can be purchased on Amazon
and wherever books are sold.
Below is a link to a written interview I did with Sheila Bender for Writing it Real.
It includes information on my work with legacy, journaling, and legacy journaling, as well as my book, Living and Leaving My Legacy, Vol. I.
It includes information on my work with legacy, journaling, and legacy journaling, as well as my book, Living and Leaving My Legacy, Vol. I.
If you’re looking for books to help you with legacy work,
check out my suggestions in this article.
check out my suggestions in this article.
Praise for
Living and Leaving My Legacy, Vol. 1
“Saferstein’s journals read like fiction. Insightful and relatable, from marriage to career to following one’s dreams, she keeps you turning pages with a rare honesty and authenticity. Readers will be forced to look inward while discovering the true magic of journaling.”
Rochelle Weinstein,
Bestselling author of When We Let Go
“This book reads as a true labor of love and devotion to both the power of journaling and the gift of legacy writing. Merle Saferstein says in the opening of this book that she hopes readers will think about their own lives and legacy while reading about her life. While reading this legacy journal, I felt like I was getting to know the author in an intimate and meaningful way, while also reflecting on my own life and experiences in an important way too. I love how Merle kept her journals in a safety deposit box at a bank! This shows how truly special her journals were and are to her, and how precious such life documents are to all of us who are journal keepers. Merle made meaning out of her journals, beyond the experience of writing them in the first place, through mining them for all that has eventually been shared here within her Living and Leaving My Legacy, Vol. 1. Merle’s love of teaching, living, and loving shine through in this legacy journal. Her devotion to living a self-aware life is captured word-by-word, journal entry after journal entry. Her willingness to inspire others to do the same is the silent invitation I heard flowing within the pages of this heartfelt collection.”
Lynda Monk,
Director, The International Association for Journal Writing
“In Merle Saferstein’s riveting and courageous memoir, she shows that one can live into every day, and not simply live through the day. In her daily exercise, or compulsion, to sit and record her joys, sorrows, hopes, fantasies and passing thoughts, she demonstrates that wisdom and insight is acquired not only through the reading of worldly wisdom, but every one of our lives is like a text, ready to reveal its hidden truths if we only take the time to consider them. In the very act of sharing what is at root very personal, she demonstrates an incredible generosity of spirit, in the hopes that others will be inspired to do the same. The book is not simply about her, but each of us, and I assure the reader that they will find themselves in her words as well.”
Rabbi Frederick L. Klein,
Director of Spiritual Care at the Greater Miami Jewish Federation
“Life-changing! Genuine! Filled with universal truths! This book is about the everyday challenges and celebrations we live through at different stages of life. Saferstein’s conversational narrative draws you in while at the same time inspiring you to deeply reflect on your own life. This is Saferstein’s genius! Since reading this book, I am now living a more present life.”
Reizel Larrea-Alvarez,
Emmy Award-Winning Journalist
“In this unique collection of journal excerpts, the reader opens a window into Merle Saferstein’s soulfulness, and through her experiences that she shares so openly with us, we awaken to our own wisdom and gain knowledge through her lessons learnt. After each chapter, thought-provoking journal prompts provide a pathway to explore one’s life questions and bring deeper meaning. I trust that the wisdoms from Living and Leaving My Legacy will spread and touch everyone’s life who reads it and many lives for generations to come.”
Agapi Stassinopoulos,
Author of Speaking With Spirit and 52 Prayers to Guide, Inspire and Uplift You
“Living and Leaving My Legacy is an authentic journey of life. Filled with the trials we all face, the highs of great moments, and the lows of sometimes feeling despair, you will find yourself within the pages of Merle’s life and the situations she faces. I’ve spent years researching what is needed for humans to thrive in life, leading to the creation of a blueprint for optimizing human capacity and energy. From boundaries to purpose, from control to personal values, you will see the proven behaviors that keep someone positively energized come to life on the pages. No matter your stage in life, or life circumstances, you will go on a journey of inspiration and self-discovery, with relatable advice that you can apply to the situations you face, for the learnings of a lifetime are within these pages.”
Sarah Deane,
Founder of MEvolution
“Merle Saferstein’s lifelong passion of capturing precious and unforgettable moments as they have unfolded over decades is indicative of the total embrace of her life and her determination not to let one moment pass her by. This will remain an important work for generations to come. It is a journey that never ends and you don’t want it to. Five stars.”
W. Thomas Osborne,
Journalist, founder, and anchor of US-UN Report and author of The War of Politics: My Ten-Year Journey with Peter Jennings and Genocide for Beginners
“In crystallizing the moments—good and bad, pronounced and more subtle—that comprise her life, Merle Saferstein offers us a profound and rare lens in which to better examine our own. If our life course is indeed a journey, this book is the very best roadmap for how best to navigate it. I will be returning to it regularly as I consider how to live, and leave, my own legacy.”
Mike Lewis,
Author of When to Jump: If the Job You Have Isn’t the Life You Want
“This is a unique presentation of the journal as art. Merle lets us into her life and heart. Her writing is hilarious, heart-wrenching, beautifully detailed. What we see here is a teacher not just of knowledge but of the process of being open and generous in life. She leaves room for encouraging and interacting with the reader too in this original sharing of the power of journaling. This book is filled with nuggets of feeling and wisdom, illumination and connection.”
Beth Jacobs,
Ph.D. Psychologist and author of Writing for Emotional Balance, A Buddhist Journal, and Long Shadows of Practice: poems </i?
“In this book, Merle Saferstein’s honesty and introspection as she moves through various stages of life—marriage, motherhood, career, self-exploration and more—draw the reader in to not only a fascinating conversation about Merle’s specific experiences, but to our own inner conversations about who we are, what we want, and what we believe. This book is a resource for anyone who wants more out of life and is daring to go for it.”
Lynne Golodner,
Author, writing coach, creator of the Finding Your Voice at Midlifewriters workshop, and Make Meaning podcast host
I am grateful that my chapter on legacy journaling is included in the book. You can order it by clicking here.
The Great Book of Journaling: How Journal Writing Can Support a Life of Wellness, Creativity, Meaning and Purpose
As a creation done under the auspices of the International Association for Journal Writing (IAJW.org), the book includes chapters from the 40 top journal experts in the world. The Great Book of Journaling is full of practical tips, evidence-based research, and rich anecdotes from their coaching, teaching, therapy work with journal writers, or their personal journal writing. It offers multiple perspectives on journaling techniques in an easy-to-use, practical format, along with providing a comprehensive introduction to various techniques and methods for deepening your personal writing.
Room 732
Have you ever walked into a hotel room and wondered who stayed there through the years and what took place before you entered? In her debut short story collection, Merle Saferstein captures the essence of the famed Hollywood Beach Hotel and brings to life the characters that have crossed the threshold of Room 732.
Set against the backdrop of Florida’s Atlantic Ocean, Room 732 reflects the hotel’s transformation from an elegant getaway during the ‘20s and ‘30s to a U. S. Navy training and indoctrination center during World War II. After the war, the upscale hotel re-opened. Then, in 1971, Florida Bible College moved in, followed by timeshares and condos. More recently, the ever-changing edifice was restored to the vacation resort it was originally intended to be.
Woven through intimate letters, journal entries, and private conversations, each story explores the threads of connection, communication, and life experiences and echoes the culture of the times. Breathing life into the walls of Room 732, the characters experience a range of emotions as they live with the effects of war, the joy of discovering faith, the death of a loved one, the challenges of marriage, and the intimacy in relationships.
Room 732 has been selected as a B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree!
“Saferstein’s concept is clever…It’s clear that she did her research before writing; each chapter abounds with accurate historical details. A good conceit.” Kirkus Review
Click here to order the book. Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.
Personalized autographed copies of books are available for gifts. Please contact me via the contact form.