Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Grandmother Principles | 1998 | Suzette Haden Elgin | Buy |
The Grandmother Principles (1998) occupies an interesting position in Suzette Haden Elgin’s bibliography, sitting at the intersection of her self-help writing and her personal experience as a grandmother. Unlike the Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense series, which addressed workplace and general interpersonal communication, this book has a specific audience: grandmothers managing the delicate balance between involvement and intrusion in their families.
The book reflects Elgin’s longstanding interest in how language and communication shape relationships. Her advice is grounded in the practical reality that grandparents and adult children often have different expectations, and that miscommunication rather than ill will is frequently the source of friction. It has a warmer, more personal tone than her more academic self-help titles.