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Grandmother's past stories
Examples of personal narratives about grandmas
Examples of personal narratives about grandmas
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This is an interview about Nancy Tran, 72 years old, female; who is the author’s grandmother. She currently lives with her 42 year old son in Springfield, Missouri. The purpose of this life review interview is to give Nancy a chance to reflect and express her feelings about unresolved trouble or traumatic life events. It also gives the author the benefits from the reminiscences of Nancy’s life by gaining a new perspective on life. This interview was in Nancy’s living room, and they had some tea to drink to give Nancy as much comfort as possible. They seated closer to each other in the same sofa and maintained direct eye contact throughout the interview. The television was turned off, so they could focus on the interview. Beginning the interview
with a smile, Nancy held the author’s left hand and started to tell her life story.
In this work Nancy Mairs, a woman with multiple sclerosis, discusses why she calls herself a cripple as opposed to the other names used by society to describe people with disabilities. She prefers the word “cripple” over the words “disabled” and “handicapped”. Nancy Mairs presents herself as a cripple using a straightforward tone, negative diction, repetition, and logical/ethical appeal.
The older adult interviewed for the purpose of this assignment was Alice Margaret Cox, the interviewers grandmother. Alice was born on February 17th, 1932 in Brown County, Minnesota. Alice was the daughter of Rose Veldman and had three brothers and three sisters. In 1942, Hikel Veldman, after marrying Rose, legally adopted Alice and her six siblings. He brought four children of his own, making a family of 13. After the family was adopted, the majority of their childhood to early adult life was spent living in Hollandale, Minnesota. Alice spent the majority of her life farming and now helps out part time at a family owned thrift store. Alice currently resides in Lake City Minnesota, in her home of twenty plus years. Only four of the eleven
Carrie Watts was a countrywoman at heart. She loved the childhood home where she grew up and never liked the life of the city she was forced to live. She did not hide the fact that she was miserable living with her daughter-in-law. She appeared to be long suffering, a martyr, and given to fits and crying (Ebert, 1986). When given the right timing and occasion, she would open up like a flower, blooming for the first time. She found solace remembering her past life and held a candle to the time when she would go back to
The essay is Didion’s account of a visit she made to her family house in the Central Valley of California for her daughter’s first birthday and how she found herself facing her past at every turn. According to Didion, family life was “the source of all tension and drama” in her life. She mentions over and over that being home gave her a sense of unease, “some nameless anxiety”, but despite this she suggests that home, and the emotional baggage that came with leaving home, defined the character of her generation and she sees it as essential in having formed her personality. Didion ends the essay with the rather upsetting revelation that she “would like to give [her daughter] home for her birthday but we live differently
On March 13, 1933, Joan Ruth Bader was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Celia Amster and Nathan Bader (Salokar & Volcansek, 1996). Ruth had an older sister, Marilyn, but she passed away at the age of six from meningitis; Ruth was one year old at the time. Cecilia, Ruth’s mother, stayed home and took care of Ruth while she grew up. Cecilia made sure that Ruth worked diligently in school and taught her the value of hard work. Cecilia was diagnosed with cancer while Ruth was in high school and the day before her daughter’s graduation she passed away (Salokar & Volcansek, 1996). One of the greatest influences on Ruth’s life was her mother and the values she instilled in her from a young age. Two of the greatest lessons that Ruth learned from her mother was to be independent and to be a lady, and by that she meant not to respond in anger but to remain calm in si...
In Alice Walker’s “Everyday Life,” we are introduced to a middle aged, African American mother, who is physically tough yet mentally meek. Mama, the narrator, is an independent and devoted mother who at times is troubled by her daughters and their relationship. Walker’s characterization of Mama as a frank, insecure and, conflicted mother enables the reader to understand Mama transformation which is illustrated by a significant decision she makes at the end of the story.
Even when at sixty Granny believed she was dying, Granny overcame the sickness because she endured. Endurance is a means of persevering through adversity. Granny recalls riding out to women having babies and sitting with sick animals and people and hardly ever losing one. Granny was not self-absorbed but became involved in helping others through their problems. Mentoring a person suffering an adversity is a chance to help them but also a chance to make use of a personal adversity and persevere. Joseph Wiesenfarth asserts Granny’s children are her consolation for the pain suffered in her life (“Internal Opposition” 106). The attentiveness of Cornelia and the rushing of Lydia and Jimmy to be at their dying mother’s bedside points not to children who consoled their mother but of a mother who consoled her children overcoming adversity for the sake of their future. Focusing on the future is a means of perseverance through
An unconventional relationship between a grandfather and granddaughter linked with murder, deep strung emotions and change, only briefly describes the different happenings of the book The Third Life of Grange Copeland, by Alice Walker. The novel reads like a soap opera moving from one violent dysfunctional generation of a family to the next. The book comes to show the development of a relationship between Grange Copeland and his granddaughter, Ruth. Through the growth of their relationship it can be seen that people have the ability to change and that they can break free from social constraints. The relationship that Grange and Ruth has is multi-faceted and both of them learn and benefit from one another. To truly understand the importance of the relationship between Ruth and her Grandfather, his three lives and all he has gone through must be understood as well as Ruth's dark family history. From this it will be easier to understand what they really gain from one another and why their relationship is so important.
In the early 1940’s Marie was born into a small tight knit family living in a small rural Kentucky town. Marie is now in her seventies and has led a very interesting life traveling the country, raising four children, and shaping her chosen profession. Our interview sessions were conducted over a period of time, as Marie is very active and has little “free time” to spare.
Nancy Ball was a focused, caring, and considerate individual. When she entered The Salvation Army Westwood Transitional Village her goal was to transition into permanent housing and find employment. Nancy Ball live in Arizona for several years after losing her job she was no longer able to maintain housing. After, becoming homeless in Arizona Miss Ball relocated to California. Her oldest son reside in California she wanted to be closer to her son. She was only able to stay with her son for a short time frame. Then she found herself living with friend and when she was no longer able to stay with friends. She end up staying at different motels and eventually move into a shelter. Her son was able to get in a good school located
In this assignment, I had the opportunity to select one family system from a menu of choices and therefore, I chose Susan’s family. This assignment will provide an opportunity to demonstrate my ability to apply knowledge to understand Susan’s environment, to collect, organize and interpret Susan’s date, and to assess Susan’s strengths and limitations. The index person is Susan and the circumstances which brought her into services was she suffers from chronic headaches and is hoping that counseling will help her improve her well-being. She first sought help for headaches in 1971, but she is continuously getting headaches more often and came in to get help again because she does not want to live like this anymore.
The fall breeze blew through the room giving way to the aroma of fresh baked cookies. He sat in his beloved recliner that has slowly faded with much use and time, changing its shade from black to grey now. His days of working in the sun on hot, steel roofs has left him with a permanent tan. You can see the the laugh lines prominently around his mouth and eyes whenever he looks at you. My grandfather, Richard Reurink, sits telling stories of his childhood,when he was about my age, and how society has changed since he was young.
Given our relatively short acquaintance, it startled me that I could read his face so transparently. But in the few months since Nancy and I had moved into our still unfinished house, Fred had become more than just a next door neighbor. Oh, we certainly had our differences. Fred was old enough to be my father, and our personalities were as far apart as our ages. He was always teasing, playing practical jokes, and smiling quizzically. I was quieter. Compared to Fred, one might say I was comatose. Yet we both seemed to know that we had something in common, something strong.
As she stared out the window, she reminisced on her past. Her mind brought her back to the night of her mother’s death. Her mom was ill and on the verge of insanity when she promised her that “she would keep the home together as long as she could” (5). At the time women did not have much voice in their home, work, or commun...
Throughout a person’s life, he or she will experience many, large and small events that can impact the outcome of his or her identity. Among those life events, there would be some significant events that leave a permanent mark in our minds, which mean they are memorable experiences. It is noteworthy that they can be both big and small. Moreover, the term “significant event” is quite subjective. It means that the significant event from my point of view maybe different than my parent’s point of view. In addition, those different significant events in another's perspective may give a new insight about who you are. In this essay, I will compare three significant events that have happened in my life, from both my point of view and from my mother’s