Автор из Рок-Рапидс выпустил новую книгу, посвященную Эрнесту Хемингуэю и преодолению последствий авиакатастрофы

ROCK RAPIDS — Curtis DeBerg, a Rock Rapids native and author, has published his fourth book, “Ode to Hemingway: Three Stories and Ten Poems”, a collection inspired by Ernest Hemingway and shaped by DeBerg’s own experience with loss and resilience. “In January 1954, Ernest Hemingway survived two plane crashes in two days in Uganda. In June 2016, I survived one. What followed, for both of us, was the long, unglamourous work of recovery,” DeBerg said. ADVERTISEMENT DeBerg began the bulk of his writing for the book around March and published it in June. The work is modeled after Hemingway’s first published book, “Three Stories and Ten Poems”, which was published in Paris in 1923. “My new book is a tribute to his first slim little book, because I like to dabble in short stories and poetry,” DeBerg said. The new book is just one of several recent projects connecting DeBerg to Hemingway. His interest in the famous author also led to a discovery in Rochester, Minnesota, that eventually resulted in a rare Hemingway-inscribed book finding a permanent home at the Nobel Prize Museum in Stockholm, Sweden. While researching his second book, DeBerg visited St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester, where Hemingway had been hospitalized for about three months with severe depression. “When I dropped by St. Mary's and the Mayo Clinic at the end of May 2021, all I really wanted were some pictures of Hemingway’s hospital building. I dropped by the information desk, introduced myself, and the next thing I know I was introduced to a sweet, tiny woman who was among the oldest sisters of Saint Francis at Assisi Heights. The archivist for the hospital, Sister Lauren Weinandt, was a bundle of energy at age 99,” he said. That introduction ultimately led DeBerg to learn that the sisters were in possession of a book inscribed by Hemingway. These are the last written words by Hemingway now known to exist. That’s what makes this little book so extraordinary, and ultimately why the Nobel Prize Museum was so eager to give it a permanent home “It was dated June 16, 1961 — just two weeks before Hemingway took his own life on July 2. These are the last written words by Hemingway now known to exist. That’s what makes this little book so extraordinary, and ultimately why the Nobel Prize Museum was so eager to give it a permanent home,” DeBerg said. ADVERTISEMENT DeBerg helped establish communication between the museum and the Sisters of St. Mary’s. The sisters eventually agreed to donate the book to the Nobel Prize Museum. “To my great surprise and pleasure, the museum invited Marisa and me to deliver the book and present it at a special ceremony in January 2026,” DeBerg said. “In late November 2025, I retrieved the book from Rochester as part of a sending-off presentation witnessed by about 40 sisters and members of the local press. Carefully, I brought the book back with me to France and then traveled to Stockholm, where the book has found its final home. About 300,000 people a year visit the museum.” DeBerg’s connection to Hemingway continued in 2026 when he was selected to present at the International Hemingway Society conference in Toronto. Toronto was significant to Hemingway’s life as well, as he spent time there from 1920 to 1923. “My proposal was accepted for presentation, and most of the sessions are academic in nature. My session, however, told the story of how the inscribed copy of ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ made its way from Rochester to Stockholm,” he said. Although DeBerg now splits his time between Hendaye, France, and Miami, Florida, his roots remain in northwest Iowa. He was born and raised in Rock Rapids in 1956. “I grew up on a small acreage exactly midway between three towns: Little Rock, George, and Rock Rapids. My three brothers and I raised calves, pigs, and sometimes even a few sheep at what everyone still calls The Six-Mile Corner. The Sibley sales barn was a highlight on many Saturday mornings — the barn is long gone now, but the memories aren’t,” he said. After graduating from high school, DeBerg attended the University of Iowa, where he became the sports editor of “The Northern Iowan”. ADVERTISEMENT “At the time, I was thinking about majoring in journalism, but my brother, Craig, encouraged me to enroll in an accounting course,” he said. DeBerg ultimately majored in accounting and worked in the field before pursuing a Ph.D. in business administration at Oklahoma State University. His goal was to become a professor, a career that eventually took him to California State University, where he taught business for 30 years before retiring. DeBerg’s interest in Hemingway extends beyond books and academic presentations. He is also working on a historical fiction screenplay titled “The Hemingway Code”. The screenplay is currently being reviewed by the Austin Film Festival. After revisions, DeBerg hopes the project will attract the interest of a Hollywood producer. The story follows a modern journalist who begins investigating the contradictions beneath Hemingway’s celebrated World War I legend. “Intercutting past and present, ‘The Hemingway Code’ is not a biopic and does not claim certainty where the historical record remains incomplete. Instead, it examines how institutions decide what counts as evidence, what is permitted to challenge an established narrative, and what quietly disappears,” he said. For DeBerg, his latest book is more than an exploration of Hemingway’s life and literature. It is also a reflection of his own journey following a 2016 plane crash. ADVERTISEMENT But by diving into reading great books and learning more about Hemingway’s literature and life story, I have found a passion that keeps me going each day “People should read this book if they like literature, poetry, Hemingway, or if they come from the Midwest. It’s a personal account of how the pain from my plane crash in 2016 has transformed into something positive. I could have easily become addicted to prescription drugs or turned to alcohol. The nerve pain, even today, ranks at a chronic 7 out of 10 on the pain scale. But by diving into reading great books and learning more about Hemingway’s literature and life story, I have found a passion that keeps me going each day,” DeBerg said.