Being a Distance Grandparent: A Book for ALL Generations (1)

Is your family geographically scattered? Has globalisation made your family a Distance Family? This book tells the candid story of how Distance Parents and Distance Grandparents struggle - and succeed - to adapt to their new reality. This isn't family life as they had imagined it.

If you are a Distance Parent or Distance Grandparent, all those how, why and what-if questions will find answers in these pages. You'll realise, perhaps for the first time, that you're not alone on your journey. Helen Ellis, researcher, writer, anthropologist and a veteran of Distance Grandparenting, examines everything from smart ways of tweaking your communication routines to tips for nourishing precious family relationships. These moving stories will soothe and inspire you, and more importantly, help you embrace your ever-changing Distance Family role.

Are you a Distance Family daughter, son or grandchild living a globalised life? Do you worry about the folks back home? Is that you? Taking time to learn about Distance Familying from your parent's or grandparent's perspective is a heartfelt act of love.

With knowledge comes understanding...

with understanding comes empathy...

and that is a good thing for Distance Families.

Being a Distance Grandparent - a Book for ALL Generations will make a difference to your Distance Family. The first part of a three-book series.

Helen Ellis is a New Zealand researcher, writer, anthropologist and a veteran of Distance Grandparenting. Three of her four children and five of her six grandchildren live 16 to 30 flight hours away in America, England and Scotland. In her research she asked the question: "How is distance grandparenting for you?" As a Distance Grandparent of more than 20 years, she has well and truly got the T-shirt. Her book, Being a Distance Grandparent - a Book for ALL Generations, combines that experience with her extensive global research. Helen feels passionately that Distance Parents and Distance Grandparents deserve a voice and has single-handedly and doggedly taken on that role. Her goal is to support each generation to understand how it is for the other. "With understanding comes empathy and this can only do good as we all gingerly navigate the oftentimes challenging social phenomenon of distance families," she explains.