Becoming Grandma the joys and science of the new grandparenting

Summary: After four decades as a reporter, Lesley Stahl says the most vivid and transforming experience of her life was not covering the White House, interviewing heads of state, or any other of her stories at 60 Minutes. It was becoming a grandmother. She was hit with a jolt of joy so intense and unexpected, she wanted to "investigate" it -- as though it was a news flash! And so, using her 60 Minutes skills, she explores how grandmothering changes a woman's life, interviewing her friends like Whoopi Goldberg, her colleagues like Diane Sawyer, and the proverbial woman next door. On top of these personal accounts, she interviews scientists and doctors about physiological changes 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. All through the book, Stahl shares her stories about her own life now with two granddaughters, Jordan and Chloe, how her relationship with her daughter Taylor has changed, and how being a grandfather has affected her husband, Aaron. In an era when Baby Boomers are becoming grandparents in droves, when young parents need all the help they can get raising their children -- and with a grandmother in the running to be our next U.S. President -- Stahl's book is a timely and affecting read that redefines a cherished relationship.