Granny D Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Name: Granny D
Rating: 4.0 (2 reviews)
Author: Doris Haddock
ISBN: 9780375505393

Granny D

Walking Across America in My Ninetieth Year

by Doris Haddock

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First Published:
Apr 1, 2001, 304 pages

Paperback:
Apr 2003, 304 pages

X
- Biography & Memoir
- USA
- Contemporary
- Debuts
- Mid-Life Onwards
- Strong Women
- Activism & Volunteering
Genres & Themes
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About this Book

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Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

About This Book

"There's a cancer, and it's killing our democracy. A poor man has to sell his soul to get elected. I cry for this country."

On February 29, 2000, ninety-year-old Doris "Granny D" Haddock completed her 3,200-mile, fourteen-month walk from Los Angeles to Washington D.C. She walked through 105-degree deserts and blinding blizzards, despite arthritis and emphysema. Along her way, her remarkable speeches -- rich with wisdom, love, and political insight -- transformed individuals and communities and jump-started a full-blown movement. She became a national heroine.

On her journey, Haddock kept a diary -- tracking the progress of her walk and recalling events in her life and the insights that have given her. Granny D celebrates an exuberant life of love, activism, and adventure -- from writing one-woman feminist plays in the 1930s to stopping nuclear testing near an Eskimo fishing village in 1960 to Haddock’s current crusade. Threaded throughout is the spirit of her beloved hometown of Dublin/Peterborough, New Hampshire -- Thornton Wilder’s inspirations for Grovers Croner in Out Town -- a quintessentially American center of New England pluck, Yankee ingenuity and can-do attitude.

Told in Doris Haddock’s distinct and unforgettable voice, Granny D will move, amuse, and inspire readers of all ages with its clarion message that one person can indeed make a difference.

For Discussion

At one point Doris mentions the difficulty of being a "soft news story in a hard news world." How does publicity function as a vehicle for change? How does the media enable one person to have an effect and mobilize people? Are there other examples of people like Doris?

How can we use Doris’s model of taking advantage of own strengths–whatever they may be–to achieve a goal?

Before she begins her trip, Doris declares, "I like to compete, even if it is against people’s expectations, and I do not favor losing." How does her competitive nature present itself in the book?

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How does the author develop themes of identity and belonging throughout the narrative?
What role does the setting play in shaping the characters' decisions and relationships?
Discuss how the ending reframes the events of the story. Were you surprised?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Villard. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.

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