Lesley Stahl

Well, this book was a no-brainer for me as I am in the throes of grandmotherhood. I found the author's research interesting and her anecdotes familiar. If there is a criticism it is that most of the other grans she interviewed were her social and economic peers. This skews the experiences they shared in a number of ways. She did discuss the role of grandparenting in poor communities based on some of her past reporting, but did not get too close to a more average middle class experience.

When she became a grandmother, Lesley Stahl 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 show more 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. show less

Great reference for what was actually happening in political reporting in the golden years of 1945-1989 before the media was taken over by the Ailes/Murdock machine. Stahl is autobiographical here, recounting her career reporting from Washington DC from Nixon through Bush I, with Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, Ronald and Nancy Reagan, and George and Barbara Bush in their real and reported persons. Real attention to the ladies of the period.

If you need a very candid "reality check" on how show more genuinely awful Ronald Reagan was as a President, this will provide. The "image" repeated so often today was ever a fiction -- it was then, it is now. Of course, Nancy Reagan was not that bad as President. Stahl documents Nancy's description of the Cabinet as "a nest of vipers". show less

. Lesley Stahl explores how grandmothering changes a woman’s life. She tells us that the most vivid transforming experience of her life was not covering the White House, interviewing heads of state, or any other of her stories on 60 Minutes. It was the unexpected “jolt and joy” of becoming a grandmother. Lesley explores this phenomenon with friends and colleagues like Whoopi Goldberg, Diane Sawyer, and even grandfathers including Tom Brokaw using a good mix of science, journalistic show more exploration and personal experiences. In a Publisher’s Weekly starred review it was written that “No matter where readers fall in age or experience, this book should top their 2016 reading list of parenting titles.” This energetic, informative, and often touching memoir will bring tears and laughter to all readers. She hits it right on the nose! show less