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“Nardi Reeder Campion is one of the wittiest women around, and the proof is her new book.”—Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.
This is the story of a life that has spanned much of the twentieth century. It is the story of a long and happy marriage, of advances in women’s rights, of forging a career as a writer (including the excitement of a big Hollywood sale), of the sometimes bewildering pace of progress, and of raising a family in a rapidly changing world. With her wit, insightful storytelling, and keen ear for offbeat anecdotes, Nardi Reeder Campion speaks for a generation that has traveled from the roaring twenties into the twenty-first century.
“We were before pantyhose, penicillin, and the pill . . . ”
Campion’s address to a reunion of her Wellesley College class of 1938 has earned her a niche in cyberspace. Endlessly circulated via e-mail and even featured in the Ann Landers columns, it combines Campion’s charm, wisdom, and self-deprecating humor. She has now written a memoir distinguished by those same qualities.
“In our day, we got married first and then lived together. How quaint can you be?”
Campion’s memoir is, in part, the story of a long and loving marriage, one that lasted fifty-nine years and “survived four jobs, seven books, nine homes, and nineteen pets (not counting gerbils).” Whether she is describing the joys of marriage to a fun-loving husband or the pain of her son’s emotional breakdown, the (sometimes mixed) blessings of grandchildren or the difficult decision to move into a retirement home, Campion’s deft mix of humor and candor yields an appealing and engaging narrative. Always seeking to discover what is worthwhile, she writes movingly about love and about death.
“Campion is one of those rare people who can recall both joyously and wisely a full existence [and] she is an accomplished raconteur...as notable for its personal testament as for its portrait of the early 20th century...A memoir to savor for its many riches and most of all, its zest.”— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“It is not easy to write charmingly about one's own life, and even more treacherous to claim that such a life might be used as a lens to view the sweep of a century, but Nardi Reeder Campion pulls off this high-wire act with wit and grace.”—Wellesley Magazine
“[A] delightful book by a perceptive writer about a meaningful life together.”—The (Milford, NH) Cabinet
“I have waited 87 years for this book. Nardi Reeder Campion is as delightful and entertaining on the page as she is in person.”—Bill Bryson, bestselling author of A Walk in the Woods and A Short History of Nearly Everything
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FROM THE BOOK “I met Nardi when she interviewed me at Dartmouth during the 1992 Presidential campaign. What I remember from that first encounter is that we shared a devotion to our alma mater, Wellesley, and spent most of our time laughing. That convinced me right off that Nardi was no ordinary journalist; in fact, there is nothing at all ordinary about her.
“...She became a friend I cherish and gladly share with all who know the joy of her company and caring.”—Hillary Rodham Clinton, from the Foreword
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NARDI REEDER CAMPION is the author of Over the Hill, You Pick Up Speed: Reflections on Aging (For Anyone Who Happens To) (UPNE, 2006) and of seven other books, including Bringing Up the Brass by Sergeant Marty Maher (the basis for the John Ford movie The Long Gray Line) and Mother Ann Lee, Morning Star of the Shakers (reissued by UPNE, 1990). She has written articles for the New York Times (including ten op-ed pieces), the Boston Globe, Reader's Digest, the Chicago Tribune, The New Yorker, Yankee, and other publications. Her column, "Everyday Matters," has appeared in the Valley News (NH) for twenty-five years.
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