About Us

Kitty Axelson-Berry
Publisher Kitty Axelson-Berry founded MODERN MEMOIRS in 1994, following 20 years of creative work in the fields of journalism, publishing, editing, and public radio commentary. It was when she realized that she owed her mother a book, a respectful telling of her mother's life story, in her mother's own words, that she started the company. Since then, she has privately published the memoirs, family histories, and authors' manuscripts of a wide variety of clients in the U.S. and elsewhere.

Back when she was starting the business, she looked for others doing this work as professionals (in any media). There were fewer than fifty in the entire country, she found. In order to bring professionals into the work and bring them up to speed quickly so that they can serve clients well, she created the Association of Personal Historians, which now has hundreds of professional, academic, and hobbyist members.

In 2002, she and former client Steve Bernstein, after he'd lost a brother to the attacks on September 11, and with assistance from former client Lynda S. Lee, decided to start a non-profit organization, The American Tribute Center©. The ATC provided qualifying families of 9/11 with Tribute Books©, modeled on MODERN MEMOIRS' Tribute Books.

Raised in West Hempstead, New York, Axelson-Berry (née Cathy Lebow) received her B.A. in 1971 majoring in Religious Studies and minoring in Music, from Smith College. For 35 years she made her home in the rural town of Leverett, Massachusetts, raising her three wonderful daughters (now 35, 31, and 14 years old) there. Recently, however, she moved with her youngest daughter to a more convenient home in Amherst. (She thinks she looks more relaxed now, perhaps as a result of the move, than in her photo here.) 

Kitty is proud to be serving her local synagogue, Jewish Community of Amherst (Reconstructionist), as co-president.

kitty@modernmemoirs.com
MODERN MEMOIRS, INC.
34 Main Street #9
Amherst, MA 01002-2367
413-253-1837

Alison de Groot
Associate Publisher Ali de Groot first encountered Modern Memoirs through a writing workshop in 1998 and since then has been on the staff as writer, editor, and production manager. She holds a B.A. in anthropology from Tufts University and a master’s in teaching ESL. Prior to her work in publishing, she taught writing at the university level for 15 years in the U.S. and Europe, working closely with adults from a wide variety of nationalities and backgrounds.

In 1999, Ms. de Groot published Learning to Speak, a memoir about her mother. More recently, she wrote a Tribute Book© for the family of a 9/11 victim; the book was privately published in 2004 by the American Tribute Center©.

Ali de Groot finds working with memoirs to be fulfilling, demanding, and inspiring. Every month she hosts First Person! First Night!, a public reading event for memoir writers, held at the offices of Modern Memoirs. She lives in Amherst, Massachusetts, with her husband and three daughters, and follows her hobbies of travel and dance (modern and flamenco) as much as possible.

ali@modernmemoirs.com
MODERN MEMOIRS, INC.
34 Main Street #9
Amherst, MA 01002-2367
413-253-1837