For those people who are in the process of "no longer playing small" this book is medicine for the soul. It contains the wisdom I wish I would have known and spoken throughout my life. It is the second chance for my grandmothers (and all women) to have their voices heard. I invite you to join my grandmothers. Sit down with a cup of tea and a scone, and delve into the wisdom that comes from beyond the beyond. If you enjoy the book, I would love it if you would consider leaving a short review on Amazon where you found it.
Adriana Trigiani's two remarkable grandmothers, Lucia and Viola, lived through the 20th century from beginning to end as working women who juggled careers and motherhood. From the factory line to the family table, the two of them - the very definition of modern women - cut a path for their granddaughter by demonstrating courage and skill in their fearless approach to life, love and overcoming obstacles. Trigiani visits the past to seek answers to the essential questions that define the challenges women face today: how we hold on to the values that make life rich and beautiful, how we can take risks and reap the rewards, how to stand resilient in the face of tragedy. 'Be bold; 'be direct'; 'be different'!
We are thirteen indigenous grandmothers. . . . We are deeply concerned with the unprecedented destruction of our Mother Earth, the atrocities of war, the global scourge of poverty, the prevailing culture of materialism, the epidemics that threaten the health of the Earth’s peoples, and with the destruction of indigenous ways of life. We, the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers, believe that our ancestral ways of prayer, peacemaking, and healing are vitally needed today. . . . We believe that the teachings of our ancestors will light our way through an uncertain future. In some Native American societies, tribal leaders consulted a council of grandmothers before making any major decisions that would affect the whole community. What if we consulted our wise women elders about the problems facing our global community today? This book presents the insights and guidance of thirteen indigenous grandmothers from five continents, many of whom are living legends among their own peoples. The Grandmothers offer wisdom on such timely issues as nurturing our families; cultivating physical and mental health; and confronting violence, war, and poverty. Also included are the reflections of Western women elders, including Alice Walker, Gloria Steinem, Helena Norberg-Hodge, and Carol Moseley Brown.
Inspired by memories of her beloved grandmother, photographer and author Alysia Burton Steele -- picture editor on a Pulitzer Prize-winning team -- combines heart-wrenching narrative with poignant photographs of more than 50 female church elders in the Mississippi Delta. These ordinary women lived extraordinary lives under the harshest conditions of the Jim Crow era and during the courageous changes of the Civil Rights Movement. With the help of local pastors, Steele recorded these living witnesses to history and folk ways, and shares the significance of being a Black woman -- child, daughter, sister, wife, mother, and grandmother in Mississippi -- a Jewel of the Delta. From the stand Mrs. Tennie Self took for her marriage to be acknowledged in the phone book, to the life-threatening sacrifice required to vote for the first time, these 50 inspiring portraits are the faces of love and triumph that will teach readers faith and courage in difficult times.
Agnes Baker Pilgrim, known to most as Grandma Aggie, is in her nineties and is the oldest living member of the Takelma Tribe, one of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz. A descendant of both spiritual and political tribal leaders, Grandma Aggie travels tirelessly around the world to keep traditions alive, to help those in need, and to be a voice for the voiceless, helping everyone to remember to preserve our Earth for animals and each other in a spiritual environment. Considered an excellent speaker, she has mesmerized her audience wherever she appears, and now her wit, wisdom, memories, advice, stories and spirituality have been captured for all to hear. Honored as a “Living Cultural Legend” by the Oregon Council of the Arts, Grandma Aggie here speaks about her childhood memories, about her tribe and her life as a child growing up in an area that often didn’t allow Indians and dogs into many public places, as well as about such contemporary issues as bullying, teen suicide, drugs and alcohol, Pope Francis, President Obama, water conservation, climate change, and much more. This is an amazing recording of one of the oldest and most important voices of the First Nation and of the world. Her stories and advice will mesmerize and captivate you, as well as provide a blueprint for how all the inhabitants of the earth can live together in harmony, spirituality, and peace.
Have you ever been in the presence of older persons who were speaking on a subject, but it sounded like they didn’t know what they were talking about? Well, I have! When you’re young, it’s baffling! As you grow older, their conversation makes more sense. Over the years, I listened to my grandmothers and to other older persons, and I picked up on the meaning of their conversations. “Gramma Said . . .” is a compilation of sayings mostly by my grandmother, Mrs. Marie Virl Page Blackwell McGill. I started writing them down because my sister, Deborah, and I always quoted her in our conversations. There are also some statements from my paternal grandmother, Mrs. Eleanor Minerva Moore White; my dad, Mr. Thurman White Sr.; my mother, Mrs. Rosa Vermell Blackwell White; my maternal great-grandmother, Mrs. Laura Anna Willis Page; and as well as other people in whose presence I have been from time to time. This book will delight the readers and bring back precious memories of their elders.
A NATIONAL BESTSELLER "My Grandmother's Hands will change the direction of the movement for racial justice."— Robin DiAngelo, New York Times bestselling author of White Fragility In this groundbreaking book, therapist Resmaa Menakem examines the damage caused by racism in America from the perspective of trauma and body-centered psychology. The body is where our instincts reside and where we fight, flee, or freeze, and it endures the trauma inflicted by the ills that plague society. Menakem argues this destruction will continue until Americans learn to heal the generational anguish of white supremacy, which is deeply embedded in all our bodies. Our collective agony doesn't just affect African Americans. White Americans suffer their own secondary trauma as well. So do blue Americans—our police. My Grandmother's Hands is a call to action for all of us to recognize that racism is not only about the head, but about the body, and introduces an alternative view of what we can do to grow beyond our entrenched racialized divide. Paves the way for a new, body-centered understanding of white supremacy—how it is literally in our blood and our nervous system. Offers a step-by-step healing process based on the latest neuroscience and somatic healing methods, in addition to incisive social commentary. Resmaa Menakem, MSW, LICSW, is a therapist with decades of experience currently in private practice in Minneapolis, MN, specializing in trauma, body-centered psychotherapy, and violence prevention. He has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show and Dr. Phil as an expert on conflict and violence. Menakem has studied with bestselling authors Dr. David Schnarch (Passionate Marriage) and Dr. Bessel van der Kolk (The Body Keeps the Score). He also trained at Peter Levine's Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute.
A follow-up to the bestselling Grandmother's Journal, to pass along a variety of experiences and life-lessons to others in the family. Specially suited to passing to children, grandchildren, or other family members, this journal gives the writer a means to organize their thoughts and advice for others. Thoughts such as "What I wish I'd known when I was your age," "What I've learned in my life and can pass on," "Top Ten things I've learned in life," "What to look for in a partner or when dating,"—all from a close, experienced family member who knows best.
