After trekking in Nepal, Sally Wendkos Olds and Margaret Roche both fell in love with this mountainous Himalayan country and her people. They returned four times between 1993 and 1998 and spent time in Bedel, a remote hill village without electricity, telephone or roads. They helped establish a library there, and on each visit Olds, a writer, and Roche, an artist, were welcomed enthusiastically as "our relatives." Each time they came to Badel, they returned home with questions about their own lives. Here, in words and pictures, is their story of the Badel villagers and their fast disappearing ancient way of life.
In a sense, my professional life has come full circle. In college I started out majoring in psychology, then changed my major and graduated with a degree in English. I combined these two major interests by writing eleven books and hundreds of articles about people and how they and their relationships develop.
I wrote my first book, THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING, after having nursed all three of my daughters. I knew that if mothers knew more about breastfeeding, more of them would choose it and more would enjoy it. The new revised and updated fourth edition of this book, written in consultation with pediatrician Laura M. Marks, M.D., will be published by Workman early in 2010. This book has become a classic and, as many moms have told me, a "bible" at a crucial time in their lives. It helped to turn around the steady decline of breastfeeding in this country, and now I love hearing from women getting help from the newest edition of the book, whose mothers read the first edition. With the 4th edition I may even get granddaughters of my first readers.
Now that I'm a grandmother myself (of 5 wonderful people), I've been reaching out to other grandmothers, and with their help have written SUPER GRANNY: GREAT STUFF TO DO WITH YOUR GRANDKIDS, which offers more than 75 ways to connect with our grandchildren. The book tells stories about what real granny-grandkid pairs do together, and offers suggestions for readers (not just grandmas) who want to do the same kind of thing with children.
THE ETERNAL GARDEN: SEASONS OF OUR SEXUALITY from my interest in sexual issues during breastfeeding, such as how a woman's feelings about her body affect her ability to nurse, how breastfeeding affects sex with her partner, and the importance of infants' need for touching. In Garden I went on to interview 100 people ages 20 to 83 ' no babies!) and to explore sexual issues throughout life, from infancy into old age, for both men and women. My sensitivity to turning points in sexual development was sharpened by my work on two college textbooks, A CHILD'S WORLD: FROM INFANCY TO ADOLESCENCE and HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, both of which I coauthored with Diane E. Papalia, Ph.D.
I believe that all parents are working parents; that parents working outside the home need special support; that mothers' well-being is crucial to children's welfare; and that the family is the best institution in the world and the one for which we are least prepared. These beliefs led to THE WORKING PARENTS' SURVIVAL GUIDE. My thrills come when parents or kids tell me that they were helped by my writing or speaking or just understanding.
All the topics I have been writing about -- child development, family life, human relationships, health, and travel -- came together in A BALCONY IN NEPAL: GLIMPSES OF A HIMALAYAN VILLAGE, about the people and way of life I came to know in seven trips to Nepal.
Meanwhile, I married and raised three children to adulthood -- and kept my sense of humor! And now I enjoy spending time with husband, children, and grandchildren -- gives me a second, or third, childhood.
I have been asked whether I made up composite portraits to illustrate the points made in my books and articles. My answer: An emphatic 'No.' I feel strongly that anything presented as nonfiction should be true and not owe anything to the writer's imagination. The nonfiction writer can remember truth in various ways, can interpret it in countless ways, but always holds the facts as inviolate. The nonfiction writer presents a view of the world as it is; the novelist, as it might be, could be, maybe ought to be. Real people continue to fascinate me, and I write within the parameters of the truth, what I call 'the romance of reality.'
To get to know me better, go to my website: www.sallywendkosolds.com and my blog, http://omasally.blogspot.com.
