Sue Johnson

Meet this unique mother / daughter-in-law / daughter team

Authors of Grandloving: Making Memories with Your Grandchildren, 5th edition

Sue Johnson

Sue Johnson, an honors graduate of Wheaton College, is the founder of Gramma's Graphics, Inc., Heartstrings Press, and the online resource www.grandloving.com. A mother of three, grandmother of seven, and an honorary mother of eight exchange students, Sue is passionate about family. When her initial Grandloving query to 150 of their friends snowballed into 350 responses, Sue knew she'd struck a chord with enthusiastic grandparents. As a long-distance grandmother, she uses ideas from her years as a teacher to enliven communications with her grandchildren.

Known as a contemporary grandparenting expert, Sue serves as a judge for the Mom's Choice Award. She, with her husband of 52 years, lives on the Northern Neck of Virginia.

Julie Carlson

Julie Carlson, Sue's daughter-in-law, is a happily married mother of three sons (ages nineteen, fifteen, and nine) who lives and works near Philadelphia. She is an honors graduate of Yale (1988) and an alumna of the Radcliffe Publishing Course (1988).

An editor since 1989, Julie freelances for the university presses at Harvard and Yale. Julie's developmental editing and writing have shaped many high-profile nonfiction manuscripts, many of which have garnered praise from major review media such as the New York Times and Washington Post. Julie has returned to teaching and now teaches preschool.

Elizabeth Bower

Elizabeth Bower, Sue's daughter, lives with her husband and two sons in Virginia. She taught elementary grades for eleven years and progressed to mentoring student teachers at Northwestern and teaching at Loyola University. Passionate about teaching, Bower began her studies in education at Connecticut College. She spent a year at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and graduated with a master's degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Elizabeth is experiencing long distance Grandloving first hand, as their sons have grandparents in Singapore and England. As the newest member of the co-author team, she brings fresh insights to the group. Elizabeth too serves as a distinguished judge for the Mom's Choice Award.

Committed to uniting the generations, Sue, Julie, and Elizabeth have authored many articles and features for grandparenting and parenting publications and websites. They are available for interviews, articles, and presentations.