exclaims Birnbach. "I asked my publish-
er when I [finished it] if there would be
some publicity, and he said no.
"There were no great hopes. But the
publicity director got me on the Today
show and [the book] just took off. It was
such a huge success; sometimes I just
had to pinch myself"
Birnbach says she was not the pub-
lisher's first choice for author. "I was
the last in a long list of writers asked
by the publisher — they went through
39 writers before they came to me,"
laughs the New York native and grad-
uate of Brown University.
"They wanted to include the book
in their catalogue for the season,
which was about to be printed, so I
had to do it quickly, within about two
weeks," recalls Birnbach of the volume
that was supposed to be no more than
a preppy catalogue itself "But I saw
more possibilities and broadened it
from a catalogue of gear to decoding a
lifestyle," says its author.
"I had been working at the Village
Voice and had to quit my job to write
the book. I took a risk and it paid off"
When she wrote The Official Preppy
Handbook, says Birnbach, people
would tell her she couldn't possibly be
Jewish and write that kind of book.
"But I would argue that you couldn't
not be Jewish and write that book,"
she says.
Birnbach explains that Jewish val-
ues are very much a part of everything
she does — including her spots on
The Early Show. "Being Jewish is so
much a part of who I am," she says.
"My grandfather — my mother's
father — was a rabbi, and my Dad
was born in Frankfurt, Germany, and
grew up in [then] Palestine."
His plight in escaping the
Holocaust in 1933 has had a big influ-
ence on Birnbach's family. "My father's
father was a successful merchant in
Frankfurt and owned some depart-
ment stores; therefore he was better
known than other Jewish families,"
says Birnbach.
"One day the Gestapo showed up
at my grandparents' house. They
knocked on the door, and my grand-
parents looked out the window and
saw it was the Gestapo. They all hid in
an upstairs closet except for my grand-
mother, who was blonde and blue-
eyed and looked very German, not
Jewish.
"She opened the door and the
Nazis asked, 'Is this the home of the
Jel,v Birnbachs?' My grandmother said
very proudly, 'Do I look like the kind
of woman who would pick a Jew?'

And they said, 'Oh, excuse us, sorry.
"Knowing that this was a sign of
what was to come, my grandfather
assembled the extended family togeth-
er and said they had to leave Germany
— a country they all loved. He man-
aged to convince 54 members of the
family to leave.
"So within two days, without being
able to get their things out of the
country, they left. They asked their
housekeeper to prepare a cold supper
for a picnic, and they took the basket
on a train out of the country. When
they reached northern Italy, they had
another conference and the majority
wanted to go to America. But my
grandfather was deeply religious and
he wanted to go to Palestine, so that's
where they went.
Recently Birnbach and her hus-
band, a film producer, took their chil-
dren to Israel to see her father honored
by the Weizmann Institute. "It was
such an emotional trip," she says. "I
cried from the moment I landed until I
left."
-
Meanwhile, when Birnbach is not
preparing segments for The Early
Show, she is busy with numerous
other projects. In 1997 she co-
authored 1,003 Great Things About
Getting Older, and followed that up in
1998 with 1,003 Great Things About
Kids. This month saw the publication
of 1,003 Great Things About Friends
and the 366 More Great Things About
Getting Older 2000 Calendar.
Currently, Birnbach, along with E.
Jean Carroll of Elle magazine, is work-
ing on a pilot for PBS stations, Chicks
on Flicks, in which the duo will review
films.
"There are no women who do
this," remarks Birnbach, who also
penned Lisa Birnbach's College Book
and Going To Work. "We aren't going
to try and be Roger Ebert, who is a
professional, Pulitzer Prize-winning
film critic. Instead, we will look at
films from a woman's point of view."
Still, despite all she has going on
in her life, Birnbach's first priority is
her husband and three children. "It's
not easy balancing motherhood and
a career," she admits. "Right now I
have overextended myself because
I've said yes to everything. But as
some of my extra projects get fin-
ished, I will be able to spend more
time at home. I don't want to miss
out with my kids."

"Tops on my list...Their Filet Mignon"

John Tanasychuk Detroit Free Press
January 8th, 1999

• Pasta Specialties • Pizza
• Steaks • Chops • Poultry
• Seafood • Cocktails

OPEN DAILY - LUNCH & DINNER

OPEN WEEKDAYS UNTIL 2:00 AM

WEEKENDS UNTIL 3:30 AM

A Ferndale Favorite Since 1961

OUTDOOR PATIO!!

Italian-American
0M0 9S Family Restaurant

"

Woodward at 9 Mile • (248) 548-5005

AUTHENTIC HONG KONG STYLE COOKING

'Featuring wonderful, traditional favorites...
a superb variety of dining specialties

The only
Chinese
pestauPant
open until

2:00 a.m.

6407 Orchard Lake Rd.
(In The Orchard Mall)

(248) 626 8585

-

Hours: Monday thru Sunday
11 a.m. to 2 a.m.

2 O FF

Any Menu Item

when a 2nd menu item of equal or greater value is purchased

Not good with any other offer. Expires December 31, 2000
Valid Anytime • Dine in Only

r

The Early Show airs 7-9 a.m.
weekdays on CBS.

.

SLAB FOR 2

$2 OFF

■
■

• •

`
.

BBQ CHICKEN FOR 2

r

$2 OFF

Includes: 2 Potatoes,
2 Slaws and 2 Garlic Breads

^cSAXXV,S,C,WeatiMANN. ,

1•

1 Coupon Per Order • Dine In or Cany-Out • Expires 1-13-2000 JN

With or
Without Skin

Includes: 2 Potatoes,
2 Slaws and 2 Garlic Breads

L

.

1 Coupon Per Order • Dine In or Cany-Out • Expires 1-13-2000 JN

ORCHARD LAKE RD. SOUTH OF 14 • Farm. Hills •

851-7000

ALSO GOOD AT OUR LIVONIA
LOCATION ON PLYMOUTH RD •

12/31

1999

79