Review: New book unleashes 'grandma power'

A global project turned book, documented by world renowned photojournalist Paola Gianturco, follows the lives of women who are a central figure in any family: Grandmas. It is fittingly called, "Grandmother Power: A Global Phenomenon."

As a grandma herself, Gianturco has said her new book was inspired by a collective experience. More specifically, Gianturco wanted to document how grandmas in all parts of the world are striving to help their families and improve the lives of others. In this just released book, she highlights the works of 120 grandmothers in 15 countries, who are fighting against a multitude of social injustices, like poverty, illiteracy, environmental degradation and human rights abuses. “Our world is so interconnected now and so troubled that grandmothers everywhere are just impelled to improve the world for their grandchildren to live in,” she says. “It’s simply not acceptable the way it is,” Gianturco told the Marin Journal. There are now more grandmas than ever, with more than 38 million in the United States alone, many of whom are better educated, healthier and financially stable than in the past, Gianturco explains in the book. But, as a photojournalist, her career has allowed her to travel the world. This served as a starting point for her research, and ultimately, opened Gianturco up to the struggles and fights of other grandmothers. All of her royalties will be donated to the Stephen Lewis Foundation's Grandma to Grandma Campaign, which provides aids to Grandmothers in Africa.