Growing Up Before Screens: Free Range Girl & the Power of Reading Aloud with Meghan Cox Gurdon (E248)
What was childhood like before screens, constant supervision, and endless distractions? In this episode of Bookish Flights, I'm joined by Meghan Cox Gurdon, longtime Wall Street Journal book critic and author of Free Range Girl, a memoir about her unconventional childhood in rural Maine during the 1970s. We talk about the process of writing a memoir, the freedom of growing up in a different era, and what we can learn from looking back at our own stories. We also discuss her previous book, The Enchanted Hour: The Miraculous Power of Reading Aloud in the Age of Distraction, exploring the challenges of deep reading in today's distracted world and the importance of reading aloud to foster connection and a lifelong love of books.
Episode Highlights:
Meghan's experience writing a memoir and why she encourages everyone to write down their memories
Growing up in rural Maine without modern conveniences and how childhood has changed
What Meghan learned about herself and the importance of extending grace to the people we love
Why deep reading has become increasingly difficult, even for devoted readers
The power of reading aloud and how it helps children develop a love of literature
How reading aloud is even being used to help socialize traumatized animals at the ASPCA (and why dogs aren't picky about their literature!)
Meghan's childhood reading habits and why she still considers herself an indiscriminate reader
A Book Flight featuring memoirs written with tenderness of heart and a deep appreciation for those we love
Connect with Meghan:
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Books and authors mentioned in the episode:
The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
The Aeneid by Virgil
Reading Magic by Mem Fox
A Perfect Coincidence by Jim Rasenberger
The Watch Tower by Elizabeth Harrower
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
True Grit by Charles Portis
Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham
Book Flight
Growing Up by Russell Baker
Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
The BFF Book Club is becoming a family affair! ❤️ This our FREE virtual book club, where we read together each month and have live author chats.
Each Family Book Flight pairs our BFF Book Club pick with:
One chapter book for growing readers
One picture book for our littlest readers
A few family conversation starters + a simple activity
Three books. One common theme.
→ Join us here: https://bookishflights.kit.com/bfffamily
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