That divide has changed in her lifetime, Pipher says. Families have scattered to the winds. Boomer moms are working and unavailable to parents. And the generations' values are different. Boomers like to share feelings, while their parents see that as self-involved.
Boomers ask for what they want, while their parents see that as selfish.
All of her friends, she says, are now talking about their aging parents. Ten years ago, it was their teen-agers. Mining her pain and that of friends and family is key for her. Writing books is hard work. There is no way I could sustain it if it were not a subject I was deeply involved in.