The studies philosopher Joyce Avrech Berkman has long conducted on Edith Stein have not only left a significant mark on the scholarly community but are also a guarantee of attention to the sources. All of Berkman’s interpretations of Stein are solidly grounded because they are based on Stein’s own writings. This new book is yet further testimony to the author’s deep knowledge of Stein’s works. Readers will find the book very useful because, in her “exegesis,” Berkman helps us understand how scholarly research on Edith Stein is closely connected to her life events. Indeed, the study of Stein’s phenomenological activity and that of her personal vicissitudes are so intimately intertwined that one sheds light on the other. Professor Berkman is able to deal skillfully with these two aspects because of her masterful command of both, and she draws on her many years of experience and careful study of Edith Stein’s works. This book will help readers approach Stein by offering new and illuminating insights. At the same time, it opens up a new pathway for thought while providing scholars a unique and compelling opportunity to revisit Stein and her philosophical contribution.

Francesco Alfieri, Pontifical Lateran University

The worldwide attention to Edith Stein is based on her outstanding intellect and her death in Auschwitz, which deepened and revealed her holiness. But it speaks to her character that her inner life is mostly hidden within her philosophical works. Only in the letters and in her autobiography does she allow a view into her crisis as a youth, her loves and scientific passions, and her conversion to a ripe Judeo-Christian faith. She gives testimonies of a gifted and endangered generation, of the rich life of a Jewish family before the Holocaust, and of the religious and philosophical battles of the time. This book is a document of rare intensity in searching the truth.

Hanna-Barbara Gerl-Falkovitz, Dresden University of Technology

An extraordinary contribution to this wide array of interpretations, and she allows Edith Stein's light
to fall on the world and elements that are vital for a successful coexistence, crucial for a human and respectful life in solidarity. She [Joyce Avrech Berkman] has succeeded in creating a masterpiece that joins the ranks of the best portrayals of Edith Stein in recent decades and for which one can only wish for a wide reception.

Teresianum