Granny D: Walking Across America in My Ninetieth Year - Hardcover

Haddock, Doris; Burke, Dennis M.

4.06

144 ratings by Goodreads

9780375505393: Granny D: Walking Across America in My Ninetieth Year

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0375505393 ISBN 13: 9780375505393

Publisher: Villard, 2001

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"There's a cancer, and it's killing our democracy. A poor man has to sell his soul to get elected. I cry for this country."

On February 29, 2000, ninety-year-old Doris “Granny D” Haddock completed her 3,200-mile, fourteen-month walk from Los Angeles to Washington D.C. She walked through 105-degree deserts and blinding blizzards, despite arthritis and emphysema. Along her way, her remarkable speeches — rich with wisdom, love, and political insight — transformed individuals and communities and jump-started a full-blown movement. She became a national heroine.

On her journey, Haddock kept a diary — tracking the progress of her walk and recalling events in her life and the insights that have given her. Granny D celebrates an exuberant life of love, activism, and adventure — from writing one-woman feminist plays in the 1930s to stopping nuclear testing near an Eskimo fishing village in 1960 to Haddock’s current crusade. Threaded throughout is the spirit of her beloved hometown of Dublin/Peterborough, New Hampshire — Thornton Wilder’s inspirations for Grovers Croner in Out Town — a quintessentially American center of New England pluck, Yankee ingenuity and can-do attitude.

Told in Doris Haddock’s distinct and unforgettable voice, Granny D will move, amuse, and inspire readers of all ages with its clarion message that one person can indeed make a difference.

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Review:

In February 2000, at the age of 89, Doris Haddock decided to walk from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., to lobby for campaign finance reform and spread her message along the way. Granny D is a journal of the challenges and triumphs of her trek, in which she "found so many new friends along the road" who entrusted her "with so much of their hearts." Along her route, she was greeted with marching bands, serenades, and parades. She spoke to children, bikers, fraternity boys, politicians, and wayward wanderers alike (some of whom joined her). She also caught the attention of journalists, though some were more interested in the little-old-lady angle than the reform message, but Granny became an expert at keeping the focus on her lobbying effort. And though various TV networks canceled their coverage because she was a "soft news" story, she managed to direct plenty of attention to her cause. Bronchitis, emphysema, and arthritis plagued her--not to mention the other aches and pains that would afflict the toughest of bodies on a 3,000-mile hike. Averaging 10 miles per day, she fought challenging terrain, heat, and even a twister in Texas that almost carried her right off the road. And she celebrated her 90th birthday along the way.

The book is not all politics, though. As various people, events, and places spark memories of her life, she steps back from the topic of finance reform and shares many personal moments: falling in love, the formation of deep friendships, working through grief. The tone is witty and conversational and fraught with bits of wisdom. Much more than a political platform or a call to action, Granny D also chronicles a rich and meaningful life. --Jacque Holthusen

From the Inside Flap:

In February 2000, ninety-year-old Doris ?Granny D? Haddock became a national heroine when she completed her 3,200-mile, fourteen-month walk from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., to bring attention to the issue of campaign finance reform.

Granny D recalls and celebrates an exuberant life of love, ac-tivism, and adventure?from one-woman feminist plays in the thirties, to stopping nuclear testing near an Eskimo fishing village in 1963, to her current crusade. Threaded throughout is the spirit of her beloved hometown in New Hampshire?Thornton Wilder?s inspiration for Grover?s Corners in Our Town?a quintessentially American center of New England pluck, Yankee ingenuity, and can-do attitude.

Told in Doris?s vivid and unforgettable voice, Granny D will move and delight readers with its clarion message that one person can indeed make a difference.

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