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Becoming Grandma

The Joys and Science of the New Grandparenting

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
The New York Times Bestseller
From one of the country’s most recognizable journalists: How becoming a grandmother transforms a woman’s life.

 
After four decades as a reporter, Lesley Stahl’s most vivid and transformative experience of her life was not covering the White House, interviewing heads of state, or researching stories at 60 Minutes. It was becoming a grandmother. She was hit with a jolt of joy so intense and unexpected, she wanted to “investigate” it—as though it were a news flash. And so, using her 60 Minutes skills, she explored how grandmothering changes a woman’s life, interviewing friends like Whoopi Goldberg, colleagues like Diane Sawyer (and grandfathers, including Tom Brokaw), as well as the proverbial woman next door.
Along with these personal accounts, Stahl speaks with scientists and doctors about physiological changes that occur in women when they have grandchildren; anthropologists about why there are grandmothers, in evolutionary terms; and psychiatrists about the therapeutic effects of grandchildren on both grandmothers and grandfathers.
Throughout Becoming Grandma, Stahl shares stories about her own life with granddaughters Jordan and Chloe, about how her relationship with her daughter, Taylor, has changed, and about how being a grandfather has affected her husband, Aaron.
In an era when baby boomers are becoming grandparents in droves and when young parents need all the help they can get raising their children, Stahl’s book is a timely and affecting read that redefines a cherished relationship.
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    • AudioFile Magazine
      Television journalist Lesley Stahl interviews celebrities and non-celebrities and surveys behavioral science and anthropology, seeking context for her life-changing experience of becoming a grandmother. She's on a mission to flesh out her reactions and ground her observations in the broader world. With a relaxed tone that is evident in her performance as well as her writing, she puts her listeners at ease. As in her TV appearances, her mature acceptance of herself invites people into her world, a place full of in-the-moment observations and intellectual generosity. This kind of security allows her interview subjects to shine and her personal stories to sound as universal as they are endearing. Though aimed at grandmothers, the male vignettes and perspectives she includes give this audio the type of appeal that all grandparents will savor. T.W. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from March 7, 2016
      When becoming a grandparent invigorated 60 Minutes correspondent Stahl “with new purpose,” she decided to research others’ experiences, and the result is this energetic, informative, and often touching book. In the hands of a less sensitive reporter, it might come across as a study of grandparenting by the one percent; Stahl readily admits that taking flights just to visit her grandchildren is a privilege few Americans share. Instead, she takes pains to profile multi-generational families at a variety of income levels, while also showing how grandparenting can be therapeutic and “curative in a profound way.” It might even be helping the economy—grandparent spending has increased sevenfold in the last decade. Stahl includes stories of generational conflict and her personal regrets as a working mother along with plentiful glimpses of her family’s joys and those of many other families. The statistics are surprising: the median age of new grandmothers in the U.S. is 50 (54 for grandfathers). As Stahl points out, that young age, coupled with longer life spans, represents a large-scale shift in the role of grandparents in U.S. culture. No matter where readers fall in age or experience, this book should top their 2016 reading list of parenting titles. Agent: Esther Newberg, ICM.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

Languages

  • English

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