Brenda Berkman lost 343 members of her family on 9/11. Lieutenant (later Captain) Berkman was the first female firefighter ever to serve in the FDNY and, though it was her day off and she had to borrow equipment, she raced to join her fellow firefighters at the horrific scene.
Ground Zero would be her home for the next two months, as she dug through rubble, searching for signs of life. After her shifts, she planned and attended funerals.
Though she now volunteers as a Tribute Center guide leading people through the site, Berkman believes she never fully dealt with her emotions until she retired in 2006 and began creating prints and drawings.
"My art has helped the pain," she said. The tragedy is not the only subject, though some of her pieces appear in "The 9/11 Decade," an exhibition in lower Manhattan to honor the fallen.
Berkman has sold hundreds of pieces, but often gives images away to political and cultural leaders, saying, "I try to use my art to touch people's lives and make the world a better place."
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