Local author shares her key to a sharp mind at 89

Jan. 24—Whether for school, work or to share her opinions and observations with the local newspaper, Frederick author Alice Haber has always written. She describes writing as the key to keeping her mind sharp as she approaches 90. In her latest book, "The Souls of Seniors: A Study," Haber aims to share that key with others.

The book is an anthology of the life stories of Haber's Frederick neighbors and includes some of Haber's own writing, too. Haber provided a prompt to prospective writers who then wrote the stories of their lives that they deemed most important. To help fill in any gaps, Haber sat down with them and molded their responses into bite-sized passages.

"Some people concentrated on their childhood, and some people concentrated on what what they did in college," Haber said. "Some people concentrated on their family now. Some said what they expect in the future. Everybody has a different take, which was a good thing, because it made it all different."

In a January interview with Prime Time, Haber told about how her own story began in Baltimore during the Great Depression, where she grew up as an only child in the city's Forest Park neighborhood. Her father was a dentist from a West Virginia town with a single traffic light, and her mother was a nurse from Front Royal, Virginia.

Haber said she developed a large vocabulary at a young age due in part to the reading material that her father introduced.

"I had a good vocabulary because my father taught me how to read from Life and Time magazines," Haber said.

Haber wrote throughout elementary school, junior high school and high school, never passing up an opportunity to report for the school paper. She was in 12th grade, however, when she learned a writing tip that would forever change her style.

As Haber describes it, her teacher called her up to her desk and told Haber she had a comment on something she had written. The teacher then said: "Why can't you say in 20 words what you've taken 40 words to say?"

"And I thought that was a very good piece of advice," Haber remarked.

After graduating from high school, Haber attended Towson University, then taught fourth grade in Baltimore.

She met her husband, Sheldon Haber, around that time, and described their introduction with a smile. Sheldon was studying at Johns Hopkins during the Jewish high holy days, and because he was from New York City, had no family with whom to celebrate. He reached out to the local synagogue and was paired with Alice's cousin. "[My cousin] said, 'If he looks like a nice man, I'll give him Alice's number.' So she gave him my number," Alice said.

Their future together was sealed at that moment.

When Sheldon later told his parents that he found companionship in Baltimore, Alice recalled, his mother was surprised.

"When I first met her, she said, '[Sheldon] went to Baltimore for an education, not to get married,'" Haber said. "So I looked at her and said, 'Isn't that nice? He got both.'"

The couple went on to have two sons, and throughout adulthood, Haber worked jobs that relied on her writing skills. She wrote for her synagogue's bulletin, wrote correspondence to parents and teachers when she was the director of a school and, most importantly to her, wrote for the National AIDS Information Clearinghouse, an information service run by the CDC to disseminate accurate information regarding HIV and AIDS. For that job, Haber flew around the country and served as a point of contact for local communities and their questions regarding the virus and the disease.

"I really felt like I was doing a good job," Haber said. "Like I was helping."

Haber's professional writing was put on hold, however, when Sheldon suffered the first of three strokes in his 60s. She left her job and stayed at home to care for him until he died at age 67.

"My [sons] have really lived up to his expectations," Haber said. "I have six grandchildren, and they're all very accomplished."

In talking about her book, which itself is a reflection on the lives of those close to her, Haber, too, became reflective. She spoke glowingly of her husband, children and grandchildren and of what it meant to look back on 89 years of life.

"I'm not a saint," Haber said. "I've done things in my life that I regret. But on the whole, I've tried to be a good person."

At the start of "The Souls of Seniors," Haber provided a friend with a prompt to contribute but never got a response from her. When the book was released, Haber confronted her and asked why she hadn't contributed. Her friend's response stunned her. "She looked at me and she said, 'What did I do?'"

Haber responded, "'What? I can't believe you're saying that. You were a teacher all your life. You were the best daughter. During COVID, you ran up [to your mother's nursing home] and talked to her through a glass door. I can't understand why you would think that.'"

As Haber described this interaction, she said she wasn't trying to change her friend's mind, just trying to reinforce the value of her story.

Then Haber said her friend responded and said, "You're right. I should have done it."

"I guess that means I'll have to write another book," Haber said.

Currently, Haber is waiting on the publication of a third book, comprised of all of the letters to the editor she's written.

Her first book, "Taking My Turn: Objections, Convolutions and Honey the Talking Cat," includes entries Haber submitted to the New Yorker's satire section and her comedic observations of the world around her.

On the prospect of a fourth book, Haber said she would consider exploring the topic of mature love and how the nature of relationships has changed since she married Sheldon.

Fourth book or not, one thing is for sure: Alice Haber will be writing.