ARTS&LIFE BOOKS
Harvey Ovshinsky
One of the threads holding it all together is his curiosity and determination to dig beneath the surface and, in this memoir, he doesn’t spare himself or his family from scrutiny. The level of detail about family dynamics is surprising and sometimes painful to read. Ovshinsky was caught in the middle in several respects. His older brother, Ben, seemed to him to be smarter, better looking and closer to his father. His younger brother, Dale, had serious communication and emotional difficulties — problems that were later diagnosed as autism. His father, Stanley, originally a machinist and left-wing social activist, later pioneered development of nickel batteries for hybrid vehicles and solar-cell-producing machines. With only a high school education, he
The Voice of Detroit’s ’60s Counterculture Journalist and TV producer Harvey Ovshinsky’s memoir retells a life of storytelling.
H
SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
arvey Ovshinsky has devoted 50-plus years to telling stories — through newspaper, radio, television and screenwriting. He is an award-winning journalist, director and producer — serving as the catalyst for others to open up and share their life experiences. Now, at age 72, he decided it was time to “flip this, and connect my dots,” Ovshinsky says. “I’m a little bit of a puzzle — a mystery.” Scratching the Surface: Adventures in
Storytelling — A Memoir by Harvey Ovshinsky does a thoughtful and entertaining job of fitting the pieces together. Detroiters, especially those of Baby Boomer age and older, will enjoy his accounts of student life at Henry Ford and Mumford high schools in Northwest Detroit, and subsequent college years at Wayne State University. Others will focus on his ups and downs in print and broadcast journalism, especially during the heyday of local television documentaries.
became an internationally known inventor and businessman, founding Energy Conversion Devices. The elder Ovshinsky had a grand vision for the way science and technology could improve civilization, but he was also temperamental and resistant to viewpoints different than his own. While Harvey was in elementary school, his father left the family to live with Iris Dibner, who became his second wife and business partner. Verbal warfare and turmoil resulted. Harvey was caught in the crossfire and felt “outnumbered and outgunned. I lost my voice.” He believes that this situation was probably the inspiration for creating stories continued on page 40 APRIL 1 • 2021
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