Eye of My Heart: 27 Writers Reveal the Hidden Pleasures and Perils of Being a Grandmother - Softcover

Graham, Barbara

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0061474169 ISBN 13: 9780061474163

Publisher: Harper Perennial, 2010

Synopsis

“Finally, a look at grandmothering that is decidedly unsentimental. These clear-eyed essays offer humor and insight as they take on the multigenerational lives many of us now lead.” –Cokie Roberts, author of We Are Our Mothers' Daughters

In this groundbreaking collection, twenty-seven smart, gutsy writers explode the clichés and tell the real stories about what it's like to be a grandmother in today's world. Among the contributors:

• Judith Viorst exposes the high-stakes competition for Most Adored Nana.
• Anne Roiphe learns to keep her mouth shut and her opinions to herself.
• Elizabeth Berg marvels at witnessing her child give birth to her child.
• Judith Guest confesses her failed attempt to be the perfect grandmother.
• Jill Nelson grapples with unforeseen mother-daughter tensions.
• Ellen Gilchrist reveals how grandparenthood has eased her fear of death.
• Beverly Donofrio makes amends for her shortcomings as a teenage mother.
• Bharati Mukherjee transcends her Hindu upbringing to embrace her adopted Chinese granddaughters.
• Mary Pipher deconstructs the role of grandmother in our changing world.

About this title

From the Publisher:

"As many of us become the elders of our various tribes, we need stories to help us understand what is happening to us, to feel accompanied in our new roles, corroborated in our feelings and quandaries, connected with others with whom we now form that windbreaker circle of protection and nurture for those younger than us."
-Julia Alvarez, author of Return to Sender and Once Upon a Quinceañera

"As someone who was partly raised by my maternal grandparents and adored them, I always knew that grandmotherhood would be intense for me. But I didn't realize that it would be such a revelation. Eye of My Heart really does what its subtitle suggests--reveals the pleasures and perils of grandmotherhood."
-Erica Jong, author of Fear of Fifty

From the Back Cover:

With A New Epilogue by editor Barbara Graham

In this groundbreaking collection, twenty-seven smart, gutsy writers explode the clichés and tell the real stories about what it's like to be a grandmother in today's world. Among the contributors:

• Judith Viorst exposes the high-stakes competition for Most Adored Nana.
• Anne Roiphe learns to keep her mouth shut and her opinions to herself.
• Elizabeth Berg marvels at witnessing her child give birth to her child.
• Judith Guest confesses her failed attempt to be the perfect grandmother.
• Jill Nelson grapples with unforeseen mother-daughter tensions.
• Ellen Gilchrist reveals how grandparenthood has eased her fear of death.
• Beverly Donofrio makes amends for her shortcomings as a teenage mother.
• Bharati Mukherjee transcends her Hindu upbringing to embrace her adopted Chinese granddaughters.
• Mary Pipher deconstructs the role of grandmother in our changing world.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0061474169
• ISBN 13: 9780061474163
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 336