A bighearted book of wisdom, wit, and insight, celebrating the love and joy of being a grandmother, from the Pulitzer Prizeβwinning columnist and #1 New York Times bestselling author
Itβs a little challenging to suss out why exactly it can be so magical. . . . All I know is: The hand. The little hand that takes yours, small and soft as feathers. Iβm happy our grandson does not yet have sophisticated language or a working knowledge of personal finance, because if he took my hand and said, βNana, can you sign your 401(k) over to me,β I can imagine myself thinking, well, I donβt really need a retirement fund, do I? And besides, look at those eyelashes. Or the greeting. Sometimes Arthur sees me and yells βNana!β in the way some people might say βice cream!β and others say βshoe sale!β No one else has sounded that happy to see me in many many years.
Before blogs even existed, Anna Quindlen became a go-to writer on the joys and challenges of family, motherhood, and modern life, in her nationally syndicated column. Now sheβs taking the next step and going full nana in the pages of this lively, beautiful, and moving book about being a grandmother. Quindlen offers thoughtful and telling observations about her new role, no longer mother and decision-maker but secondary character and support to the parents of her grandson. She writes, βWhere I once led, I have to learn to follow.β Eventually a close friend provides words to live by: βDid they ask you?β
Candid, funny, frank, and illuminating, Quindlenβs singular voice has never been sharper or warmer. With the same insights she brought to motherhood in Living Out Loud and to growing older in Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, this new nana uses her own experiences to illuminate those of many others.
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