family

History and Family at The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum

David Guistina — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:12:00 +0000

The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, New York is in the midst of their countdown to the public opening of the Roosevelt Library's new permanent museum exhibits on June 30th.

Michael Thompson

Joe Donahue — Tue, 14 May 2013 14:35:00 +0000

Berkshire Country Day School and the Berkshires Hills Regional School District present an evening with Michael G. Thompson, Ph.D. at 7 pm on Wednesday May 15th at Berkshire Country Day School.

In his work, Dr. Thompson has explored the emotional lives of boys, friendships and social cruelty in childhood, the impact of summer camp experiences on child development, the tensions that arise in the parent-teacher relationships, and psychological aspects of school leadership. His latest book Homesick and Happy: How Time Away From Parents Can Help a Child Grow.

Carolyn LaDuke: Even Tougher Cookie

Sarah LaDuke — Fri, 10 May 2013 14:35:00 +0000

The Friday before Mother’s Day in 2011, we had Dave Isay on to talk about the book, Mom: A Celebration of Mothers from StoryCorps. As many of you know, StoryCorps is an oral history project designed to document the fascinating lives or normal people. That Spring, Sarah LaDuke's Mom - Carolyn - turned 70 and retired, so she copied the StoryCorps model (they encourage everyone to do so) and we aired some of her recorded conversation with her mom.

Since that conversation, Carolyn LaDuke has been through a lot. She survived a heart attack in October of 2011 and was diagnosed - for the second time - with breast cancer in late September of 2012. She has recently finished two extremely trying rounds of chemotherapy and should begin radiation soon. This Friday before Mother’s Day - today - we wanted to share a new interview with Sarah's Mom.

"Moving In" by Bruce Littlefield

Sarah LaDuke — Thu, 09 May 2013 15:35:00 +0000

NY Times best-selling author and lifestyle expert Bruce Littlefield’s latest book is his most personal to date. In Moving In: Tales of an Unlicensed Marriage, he takes readers on a wild and often hysterical ride through the first year spent fixing up a historic old house with partner (and unwitting handyman) Scott Stewart, one of Manhattan’s top real estate brokers.

"Carrie and Me: A Mother-Daughter Love Story" by Carol Burnett

Sarah LaDuke — Thu, 09 May 2013 14:10:00 +0000

This segment begins with audio from an episode of the 1980s television series, Fame. In the clip, Carol Burnett performs with the eldest of her three daughters, Carrie. Carrie was a series regular and Carol joined the program as a guest star.

In 2002 - at the age of 38 - Carrie died of cancer.

The new book, Carrie and Me: A Mother-Daughter Love Story is Carol Burnett’s poignant tribute to her late daughter and a funny and moving memoir about mothering an extraordinary young woman through the struggles and triumphs of her life. Sharing her personal diary entries, photographs, and correspondence, Carol traces the journey she and Carrie took through some of life’s toughest challenges.

"Flora" by Gail Godwin

Joe Donahue — Wed, 08 May 2013 15:35:00 +0000

Ten-year-old Helen and her summer guardian, Flora, are isolated together in Helen's decaying family house while her father is doing secret war work in Oak Ridge during the final months of World War II. At three Helen lost her mother and the beloved grandmother who raised her has just died.A fiercely imaginative child, Helen is desperate to keep her house intact with all its ghosts and stories. Flora, her late mother's twenty-two-year old first cousin, who cries at the drop of a hat, is ardently determined to do her best for Helen. Their relationship and its fallout, played against a backdrop of a lost America will haunt Helen for the rest of her life.

Listener Essay - Double Graduation

Leighann Camarero — Mon, 06 May 2013 15:50:00 +0000

Sharing the spotlight can be difficult, especially when it’s with your sibling. We hear these stories all the time on TV, whether it’s Serena versus Venus Williams or John and Jim Harbaugh coaching against each other in the Super Bowl.

Essayist Leighann Camarero tells us about the personal connection she has with these competitive siblings when it comes to mom and dad having to choose who to support.

"The Girl With No Name: The Incredible True Story of a Child Raised by Monkeys" by Marina Chapman

Joe Donahue — Fri, 03 May 2013 14:10:00 +0000

In 1954, in a remote mountain village in South America, a little girl was abducted. She was four years old. Marina Chapman was stolen from her housing estate and then abandoned deep in the Colombian jungle. That she survived is a miracle. Two days later, half-drugged, terrified, and starving, she came upon a troop of capuchin monkeys. Acting entirely on instinct, she tried to do what they did: she ate what they ate and copied their actions, and little by little, learned to fend for herself.

Listener Essay - A Man of Letters

Sarah LaDuke — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 15:50:00 +0000

This Listener Essay by Barbara Redfield is entitled "A Man of Letters."

The Book Show #1291 - Elizabeth Graver

Joe Donahue — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 19:06:00 +0000

Elizabeth Graver’s new novel, The End of the Point , is set in a summer community on Buzzard’s Bay from 1942 to 1999 and traces one family’s journey through the latter half of the 20th Century.

It examines the legacy of family and place and explores what we’re born into and what we pass down.