Free eBooks Eye Of My Heart: 27 Writers Reveal The Hidden Pleasures And Perils Of Being A Grandmother Available To Downloads
With A New Epilogue by editor Barbara GrahamIn 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.
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Harper Perennial; 1 edition (April 6, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061474169
ISBN-13: 978-0061474163
Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.8 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (83 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #144,634 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #39 in Books > Parenting & Relationships > Family Relationships > Grandparenting #641 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Essays & Correspondence > Essays
This book pretty much totally broke my heart, in a good way.EYE OF MY HEART is a book of essays written by grandmothers, about being a grandmother. All kinds of grandmothers are represented here, and so many of the essays touched me.Though the stories are all different, there are a lot of common themes. One is how, as a grandparent, it is very difficult to love someone - your grandchild - so much, and yet have so little control over how much you see that person, or what their life is like. Barbara Graham, the editor of this collection, wrote about her son's family moving away to Paris, and the injustice of it all almost made me cry. Also, two of the essays were published anonymously, and these especially brought issue of lack of control home for me. One is written by a woman whose son's girlfriend refuses to practice birth control and so they have baby after baby while trying to live on welfare yet somehow buy brand new TVs. Another was written by a woman whose granddaughter - to whom her access is restricted by her daughter-in-law's wishes - attempts suicide.Another repeated thought how much less perfection is expected of oneself as a grandparent as opposed to being a parent. This quote from Beverly Donofrio's essay (despite the God business) sort of rocked my world: "I lay down, too, listening to my grandson's breathing, thinking about God and humility. I was not perfect; it was arrogant and self-centered to think I should be. I thought about how God loves me just the way I am - so maybe I should, too? It's my own self-judgement that gets in the way." I have always been a perfectionist, and I suspect that would make any attempt I made at motherhood far more difficult than it needed to be.
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