Shirley Showalter

The Mindful Grandparent was written by two grandmothers with many grandchildren between them. The book was thoughtfully written, divided into chapters with various topics such as how to talk with your grandchildren, activities to do with them, how to manage their involvement with social media, should you be a caregiving grandnanny, and so forth. At the end of each chapter is a list of resources, many of which I will look into as my own baby grandaughter gets older. The book offers common sense advice but also helpful information about how to create a relationship that is warm and special with grandchildren who live both near and faraway.… (mais)

Marilyn McEntyre and Shirley Showalter have authored a masterful book of fun stories, personal experiences, and practical hints and helps for all grandparents. “The Mindful Grandparent” is much more than a how-to or self-help book, it is a celebration of all grand people, big and small. Each of the 52 chapters, alternately written by Showalter and McEntyre, explains an important principle, tells a useful story, describes potential conflicts, and ends with a section of practical suggestions.

It is certainly impossible to cover all things 'grandparent' in one book, but that which is discussed by this one book is both refreshingly honest and desperately needed for many soon-to-be grandparents, as well as those who seem to have been grand parenting all of their lives.

I give “The Mindful Grandparent” five stars.… (mais)

This is the author's story about what it was like to grow up as a sheltered Mennonite girl with big dreams in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, as her family and church dealt with all of the cultural changes of the 50's and 60's. The author writes with gentle humor and affection about her years of growing up, and finally, being the first of her family to go to college.

She also tells the story of her parents when they grew up; her mother had her own unfulfilled dreams of being an actress and a writer, and was a bit of a rebel herself as a young adult; for example, going against the bishop's rules on her wedding day and wearing white (and opened toed!) shoes on her wedding day.

I really enjoyed this book, and learning something about Mennonite culture that was different than what I had read in fictional stories. As the author points out, Mennonites are not just "Amish with cars and electricity", and each Mennonite community has their differences from each other, as per their rules and how strict they are, just as Amish communities differ from one another.

I really enjoyed this memoir, and I found it fascinating and hard to put down once I started reading it. I appreciated also that the author included several photographs throughout the book of her and her family, and at the end of the book, a few family recipes.… (mais)