Dimensions
158 x 203 x 28mm
Though the themes of grandmotherhood are universal‚ each story of grandmotherhood is particular: touching‚ painful‚ funny‚ true‚ saturated with love. Though some grandparents are disconnected from their children and their children's children‚ in most of these stories there's a common thread: a love for grandchildren that knows no bounds‚ despite very earthly-and‚ occasionally‚ impassible-boundaries and limitations. And though becoming a grandmother may sound like the easiest thing in the world‚ for many women it is not so.
Neither self-helpy nor cutesy‚ these essays offer honest and straight-forward perspectives on a complex role that many take for granted.
The pieces in this collection come from a range of literary of grandmothers and touch on the whole spectrum of topics‚ including Elizabeth Berg (on thrill of being present for the birth of her first grandchild)‚ Ellen Gilchrist (on how grandparenthood has made her stop fearing death and given her a second childhood)‚ Molly Giles (on saying "no" to her granddaughter)‚ Judith Guest (on her failed attempt at emulating her own saintly grandmother)‚ Bharati Mukherjee (on her initial disappointment at learning that her son and his wife couldn't have children of their own turning into absolute delight in her adopted Chinese grandsons)‚ Jill Nelson (on her daughter's jealousy of Jill's relationship with her grandson)‚ Anne Roiphe (on learning the hard way that a grandmother's role is to love unequivocally and to keep her mouth tightly shut)‚ Judith Viorst (on competition between grandparents)‚ Barbara Graham (on what happens when grandchildren live across the globe)‚ and many more.
