Ladysitting, Lorene Cary
Ladysitting, Lorene Cary
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
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Ladysitting
My Year with Nana at the End of Her Century

Author: Lorene Cary

Narrator: Lorene Cary

Unabridged: 7 hr 14 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/07/2019


Synopsis

Lorene Cary's grandmother moves in, and everything changes: day-to-day life, family relationships, the Nana she knew—even their shared past.

From cherished memories of weekends she spent as a child with her indulgent Nana to the reality of the year she spent "ladysitting" her now frail grandmother, Lorene Cary journeys through stories of their time together and five generations of their African American family. Brilliantly weaving a narrative of her relationship with Nana—a fierce, stubborn, and independent woman, who managed a business until she was 100—Cary looks at Nana's impulse to control people and fate, from the early death of her mother and oppression in the Jim Crow South to living on her own in her New Jersey home.

Cary knew there might be some reckonings to come. Nana was a force: Her obstinacy could come out in unanticipated ways—secretly getting a driver's license to show up her husband, carrying on a longtime feud with Cary's father. But Nana could also be devoted: to Nana's father, to black causes, and—Cary had thought—to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Facing the inevitable end raises tensions, with Cary drawing on her spirituality and Nana consoling herself with late-night sweets. When Nana doubts Cary's dedication, Cary must go deeper into understanding this complicated woman.


About Lorene Cary

Lorene Cary is the author of the memoirs Ladysitting and Black Ice, three novels, including The Price of a Child, and one book for young readers. She founded Art Sanctuary and SafeKidsStories.com, teaches at the University of Pennsylvania, and has written a one-act opera of Ladysitting. She lives in Philadelphia.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Tina on April 30, 2019

Honestly, I don't know who's tougher, the 100 year old grandmother holding on to life with the strength of a prize fighter, or the mid-life, always keep your feet moving, granddaughter. I do know, that this book is a knock-out, take no prisoners, work of non-fiction. A truly moving battle of the huma......more

Goodreads review by lydie on June 06, 2022

enjoyable yet it was easy to zone out! that’s probably a me problem tho hehe......more

Goodreads review by Karrie on September 17, 2019

My favourite part of this story is the title - it illustrates the respect and infantalizing that we aim at our elders. I expected more personal remembrances than historical ones.......more

Goodreads review by Jackie on July 27, 2019

Swing and a miss This was just not a great book for me, though it addressed many of my interests: elderly issues, end of life, caregiving an elderly family member, and the geriatric population in general. There were some good sections and I wish those had been a larger portion of the book. This book f......more