Born on April 4, 1923, Dorothy Dinnerstein grew up in a Jewish household located inside of New York City. Nathan, her father, and Celia Moed, her mother, raised Dorothy. Nathan was an architectural engineer and Celia worked in administration at the Bronx Family Court. Unfortunately, Nathan’s architectural engineer business did not last through the depression, so he then had to earn a living as a bookkeeper at his brother-in-law’s junkyard.

In the year 1955, the two had their first child, Naomi May. Naomi is the only child of Walter and Dorothy. Years later, Walter died of heart failure, and Dorothy was left a widow, but soon met and married Daniel S. Lehrman, a psychologist as well. Lehrman, who was previously married, had two daughters of his own, Nina and June, that Dinnerstein soon adopted after their marriage. Daniel and Dorothy raised their kids in the city of Newark, New Jersey, where Dorothy taught and did research at Rutgers University.

After completing grade school in The Bronx, Dorothy then continued her education at Brooklyn College. Here, Dorothy earned a bachelors degree in Psychology. Furthering her education, she received her Doctorate in Psychology in 1951 from the New School for Social Research. During her collegiate years, she met her first love, Walter Miller. Miller was poet and professor at New York University.[1]

  1. ^ Lewis, Thomas Tandy. "Dorothy Dinnerstein." Guide To Literary Masters & Their Works (2007): 1. Literary Reference Center. Web. 11 Mar. 2016.