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Book Summary and Reviews of Eye of My Heart by Barbara Graham

Eye of My Heart by Barbara Graham

Eye of My Heart

27 Writers Reveal the Hidden Pleasures and Perils of Being a Grandmother

by Barbara Graham

  • Published:
  • Apr 2009, 336 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

In Eye of My Heart, twenty-seven smart, gutsy writers explode myths and stereotypes and tell the whole crazy, complicated truth about being a grandmother in today's world. Among the contributors:

  • Anne Roiphe learns—the hard way—to keep her mouth shut and her opinions to herself.
  • Elizabeth Berg marvels at witnessing her child give birth to her child.
  • Beverly Donofrio makes amends for her shortcomings as a teenage mother.
  • Judith Viorst exposes the high-stakes competition for Most Fabulous Grandchild.
  • Jill Nelson grapples with mother-daughter tensions triggered by the birth of her grandson.
  • Judith Guest confesses her failed attempt to emulate her own saintly grandmother.
  • Bharati Mukherjee transcends her strict Hindu upbringing to embrace her adopted Chinese grand-daughters.
  • Lynn Lauber finds joy in grandmotherhood that she missed out on as a mother.
  • Sallie Tisdale pays a high price—financially and emotionally—for her fast-growing brood of grandkids.
  • Ellen Gilchrist reveals how grandparenthood has eased her fear of death.
  • Molly Giles is spurned by her toddler granddaughter during a trip to Paris.
  • Susan Shreve finally accepts that she's the grandmother, not the mother.
  • Roxana Robinson realizes, with relief, that she doesn't have to worry so much anymore.
  • Abigail Thomas plots her escape when she can't bear to bake one more cake.
  • Letty Cottin Pogrebin longs to leave a lasting impression on her grandchildren.
  • Mary Pipher explores the primal role of grandmothers in a fast-changing world.

In this groundbreaking collection, you will encounter the real stories that usually go untold. Free of platitudes and clichés, the essays in Eye of My Heart are linked by a common thread: a love for grandchildren that knows no bounds, despite inescapable obstacles and limitations.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"In illuminating, unsentimental essays, 27 writers offer up insights on the tricky art of grandmothering." - People

"Insightful and candid, sometimes painfully so... Women who have achieved grandmotherly status will appreciate this engaging, honest volume of essays by 26 writers who articulate shared emotions about their grandchildren." - Publishers Weekly

"So many different perspectives and vantage points are woven seamlessly that no matter what their personal relationship to the word 'grandmother' is, readers will find much to make them laugh out loud—and also to break their hearts'" - Christian Science Monitor

"Spry and unsentimental. ... Truth telling with dollops of love." - O Magazine

This information about Eye of My Heart was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Barbara Graham

Barbara Graham is an essayist, playwright, and author who has written for Time; O, The Oprah Magazine; Glamour; More; National Geographic Traveler; and Vogue. She is a columnist for Grandparents.com and has two granddaughters

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