Alexandra Grabbe
Author Interview - Alexandra Grabbe
Author of Seeing Joy, A Story of Life, Death, and What Comes Next
Beatrice, one of America’s first career women, is still feisty at ninety-six. She lives with her daughter Alexandra, who has moved to Cape Cod to care for Bea while running a bed-and-breakfast out of their beloved old house. Like so many adult children caring for elderly parents, Alexandra must balance her new job as caregiver with her role as daughter—and it isn’t easy. Bea is demanding and very verbal. Her mind is like a fireworks display on a drizzly Fourth of July—some shots fizzle out, but there are still bits of brilliance. After a knee ailment confines Bea to bed, it becomes clear her life will soon end. Convinced nothing comes next, Bea declares she doesn’t want to die. When deceased friends and family start “visiting” Bea’s bedroom, Alexandra wonders whether her mom is hallucinating. Or could these visits have deeper meaning? Bea entertains her “guests” by hosting tea parties and reliving treasured memories. She reveals an unexpected kind of joy to Alexandra—a joy that brings peace and chases away the fear of death as they experience their final days together.
Author Interview - Alexandra Grabbe
Author I draw inspiration from:
John Updike. Starting with Rabbit, Run. I so admired his writing! More recently, Ben Shattuck, author of the short story collection The History of Sound. Shattuck possesses the ability to make a reader feel like he/she has stepped back in time to the historical period when each story takes place. He inspires me to try and do the same with my historical fiction.
Author Interview - Alexandra Grabbe | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
On the back porch in spring, summer, and fall.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
I would not want to be stuck in an elevator with anyone! I was stuck once, back when the GrubStreet Creative Writing Center occupied one floor of a building on the Boston Common. The building had an ancient elevator. Chris Castellani, GrubStreet Artistic Director, was working late and rescued me.
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
As a child, I organized a book of poetry with my little brother as a Christmas present for our parents. In 1969, I moved to France and worked for a while as a lyricist while raising three children. I took a few writing courses in Paris, but it wasn’t until I discovered GrubStreet in Boston that becoming an author turned into a real goal of mine. It was a nice surprise to realize I had so much in common with other aspiring authors, affectionally nicknamed “Grubbies.” Since moving to Boston, I have come to appreciate the vibrant community of writers that exists here in the city. I attended Masters Short Fiction classes for a decade. My husband and I were living in my parents’ old Cape Codder at the time. We had moved back from Europe to assume responsibility for them. Dad passed in 1999 at 97. Mom in 2006, also at 97. That year, I wrote a daily blog about home care. I started "By Bea's Bedside" to keep family and friends informed, but strangers soon started following and one suggested turning the blog into a book. I had already written freelance articles about living in France, so I guess I always considered myself a writer, but not an "author." Then, in 2024, I put my short stories together and officially became one when Academic Studies Press published my short story collection The Nansen Factor, Refugee Stories. For Seeing Joy, I have enjoyed working with Koehler Books’ Becky Hilliker, editor extraordinaire, and I’m excited that my memoir will finally become available so that adult children can read about the experience of caring for a parent at end-of-life and perhaps realize that it is a viable option.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
Hardback. I like the feeling of holding a book. But many books these days begin life as paperbacks. I live within walking distance of a great library and appreciate being able to order library books online. (If I love a library book, I go and buy myself a copy.)
The last book I read:
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans is a fabulous read, but I've heard it's even better as an audio book because a slew of different actors read/perform the letters supposedly received by the narrator, Sybil.
Author Interview - Alexandra Grabbe | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
I write on a MacBook Air. Like, right now, I’m revising a novel set in Viking times. During revision, I use the option of hearing my pages read out loud. The sound of the words matters to me. (On a Mac, hold down Option/Escape.)
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
Not really a character because the book isn’t fiction, but the author felt like a character, someone I would like to know. Her name is Helen Whybrow, and she wrote The Salt Stones, a fascinating memoir about owning a sheep farm in Vermont. As I devoured this delicious book, I thought to myself, what a lovely person. While I have never raised sheep, we felt that we shared a general philosophy on life. I think we'd get on well.
Author Interview - Alexandra Grabbe | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
I’ve been a talk show host and a relocation expert in Paris. I did volunteer work for five years as the editor of a newsletter for the American Section of the Lycée International in St. Germain-en-Laye, France. I worked as editorial assistant to two famous authors. I ran a green B&B in Wellfleet and blogged about living green on Cape Cod for a decade. (Title: Wellfleet Today.) Blogging turned out to be a great way to exercise my writing chops, which led to authorship in 2024. I loved being on the radio, meeting and interviewing international performers. That was my dream career.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
Roaring twenties. Oh, those flapper dresses with beads!
Place I’d most like to travel:
Greece. My husband wanted to take me there. We never made it.
My signature drink:
Acai, Superfood
Favorite artist:
Bruce Springsteen (I actually met Bruce during his “Born in the USA” tour. Such a thrill!)
Number one on my bucket list:
My memoir SEEING JOY provides an opportunity for readers to learn about the fulfillment and the challenge of caring for an elderly parent at a time when a nursing home in Boston, for example, costs $14,000/month. People mistakenly think caring for a person of extreme old age will be depressing. It isn’t. The experience was more of a privilege than a burden. I look forward to sharing what I learned over the coming months as I promote my memoir.
Anything else you'd like to add:
I feel proud of my writing and the fact that I have now published two books.
Every day 10,000 baby boomers turn 65. Due to the general euphoria after World War II, we boomers were raised under extraordinary circumstances. Well-meaning parents did their best to shelter our pastel-colored nurseries and downplayed the possibility of nuclear war. Scientific breakthroughs created the illusion that civilization had won the battle with germs. Boomers grew up bubble-children, in glorious ignorance of pain. But pain is a part of life.
Beatrice, my mom, nicknamed “Bea,” had her share. Sibling rivalry, sexual abuse, being blamed for the death of a little brother. She gave up her first love because of parental disapproval. Her breakup with beau Bill Whitney must have been tough. She had an abortion, then lost her job at CBS when she turned down a boss’s advances. Finally, she married a man who had lived through revolution, as damaging to the psyche as the Holocaust. Despite all this, Bea bought into the dream that life was a garden party without ants. She bit off big chunks and chewed hard. Anything was possible if you just tried hard enough. I marvel at her constant optimism. It certainly brightened my world. I was fortunate to have her as my mother.
Please visit my author website for more information about my writing and Seeing Joy. https://alexandragrabbe.com
Find more from the author:
@Alexandragrabbe.bsky.social (I quit Twitter after Musk changed it.)
I am very active on Facebook and have something like 400 followers who regularly read my posts.
About Alexandra Grabbe:
Alexandra Grabbe
After graduation from Vassar College, Alexandra Grabbe worked in journalism and broadcasting while raising three bicultural children in Paris, France. She served as assistant to authors Barbara Chase-Riboud and Marge Piercy. For fifteen years, she ran an eco-friendly bed-and-breakfast in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, where she blogged about living green on Cape Cod. Alexandra now lives in Arlington, MA where she continues her lifelong passion as an author by publishing Seeing Joy, a memoir just out from Koehler Books, available from bookshop.org and other online bookstores.
