As a woman who is getting older, this book attracted me. I have read some other books by Mary Pipher, which were excellent. Another Country is about how the connections between generations–mothers, fathers, grandparents, children, and grandchildren–all matter very much.
Mary Pipher is part of the “sandwich generation”-–people who are 50+ who have parents who are still alive, as well as children and grandchildren. Mary is a psychologist in Nebraska and has had many clients with interesting situations–relationships between generations.She wrote about these situations and how she suggested they make things happier for both generations. Each story is different–about the “young-old,” “old-old,” and the young. She has many excellent ideas–the most important: listen to each other, think positively, and love each other!
I guess the most important topic for me was, as parents get older, they need help, even though they always say, “I can do it myself”! Children usually want to help if they can, but with children of their own, and a job or two, it makes it more difficult. The author suggested that it might be a good idea to move nearer to your children, to make it easier for them to help, and for you to connect more closely with their children. The relationship between grandparents and grandchildren can be much more connected if they do live nearby, although texting, e-mailing, and skyping are great too. You can go to games, plays, and other activities that they are involved with, learn how they view the world…and they may even ask you how you view the world! If, after reading this book, 20 members of our church leave to be nearer their families, I would be sad, but happy too!
Becky Van de Water, March 2013