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A Grandmother's ABC Book

by Kathy Ewing
photographs by Margaret Ewing

In September 2020 author Kathy Ewing and her husband learned that they would soon be first-time grandparents—of twins. Overwhelmed with delight, Ewing spent a lot of time thinking about the two little ones soon to join the family, looking forward to watching them learn and grow and share in the traditions of the Ewing family. With time on her hands due to the COVID pandemic, Ewing decided to make a cloth ABC book for the twins and also to write a companion book of family stories based on the alphabet. Entertaining and inspiring, A Grandmother's ABC Book is about looking ahead—to the excitement of grandchildren, to the promise of a joy-filled future, and to the thrill of sharing one's life and stories with the next generation.

BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Personal Memoirs
FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS / General

ISBN: 978-1-956056-86-0 (print; softcover; perfect bound)

LCCN: 2023935880

Copyright 2023; released June 2023

142 pages; 28 full-color illustrations

Author Biography

Kathy Ewing taught Latin and English at Cleveland State University for twenty-four years. Her writing has appeared in Belt, The Bark, Mother’s Day Magazine, The Plain Dealer, America, The Millions, Brevity, and National Catholic Reporter. She has published two previous books: Missing: Coming to Terms with a Borderline Mother (Red Giant Books, 2016) and Lead Me, Guide Me: The Life and Example of Father Dan Begin (Shanti Arts, 2020). She blogs at www.kathyewing.com.

Endorsements

“I have often yearned for a family history as told and seen through the eyes of my Grandmother Lovejoy. Somehow author Kathy Ewing has sewn a complex memoir-tapestry of lineage, derivation of alphabet letters, etymology, and her own family into the pages of her book of ABCs. Her lucky grandchildren will share an intimate glimpse at her world as it morphed through COVID, life, death, movies, books, pets, passions, history, and deep love. Such a joy!
—Sharon Lovejoy, author of Granny Camp and Trowel and Error

“Kathy Ewing's latest book is an utterly engaging charmer. She navigates the collision of beautiful news—the impending birth of twin grandchildren—with the woe of the pandemic as she reflects on her work crafting the babies a cloth ABC book. Each letter summons memories of family and friends, moments from the pandemic, and sprightly disquisitions on language and letters. Both the cloth book and the paper one are a treasure for the babies, of course, and the latter—this book—is a treasure for the rest of us with our own tender feelings about fleeting childhoods and other family bittersweets.”
—Kristin Ohlson, author of Sweet in Tooth and Claw: Stories of Generosity and Cooperation in the Natural World

Articles and Reviews

Kabir Bhatia, “Cleveland Heights grandmother on creating an alphabet book for twins born during the pandemic,” Ideastream Public Media (July 6, 2023)