Grandmother Power: A Global Phenomenon Paola Gianturco, powerHouse Books.

But of course grandmothers’ activism goes beyond childrearing both in the US and around the world. Grandmother Power documents the activism of Raging Grannies in California, for example, who dress up in crazy hats and aprons and sing funny songs to attract media attention to the political issues that they believe will make the world a better place for their grandchildren.

The Grandmother Power project website lists grandmother groups all over the world that US grandmothers can join, network with and support. Many of those groups are located in the United States.

How did you find the grandmothers you interviewed? Did you have any trouble getting them to share their stories?

I did lots of research and discovered 69 grandmother groups in 30 countries; the issue for me was: which ones to include! I selected the 17 groups in the book carefully, wanting to balance the issues – from education to energy to environment to human rights, and geography: 15 countries on five continents.

I was introduced to the groups by nongovernmental organizations, scholars, friends, and foundations like the Stephen Lewis Foundation in Canada that will receive 100% of my author royalties from Grandmother Power.