Meet Alexandra Grabbe and learn more about her memoir Seeing Joy (March 17 2026). Alexandra began her career in Paris, greeting listeners each evening with her signature line, “Good Evening, Paris!”. As one of the most popular FM hosts in the city, she connected French audiences to the latest American music while honing her lifelong love of writing. Even as a child, Alexandra wrote and staged skits with her brother – an early sign of the creative spirit that would define her life.
When ninety-six-year-old Bea Chinnock becomes bedridden after a bout with bursitis, her estranged daughter Alexandra steps in as caregiver, aided by a witty home health aide and a funky hospice nurse. As Bea begins seeing the spirits of loved ones long passed, and hosting “tea parties” for them, her daughter struggles to balance compassion with disbelief, even as she uncovers the truth of her mother’s extraordinary life: surviving abuse, love affairs, a wartime broadcasting career, and participation in the 1963 March on Washington.
Told with humor, candor, and grace, Seeing Joy explores what it means to die well, and to live fully until the very end. As the line between memory, spirit, and imagination blurs, Bea and Alexandra discover that healing can happen even in life’s final act.
This book will resonate deeply with readers interested in:
- The emotional and spiritual dimensions of hospice and home care
- Stories of aging parents and adult children seeking reconciliation
- The intersection of feminism, memory, and mortality
- Works like Being Mortal, The Farewell, and Our Souls at Night
“Caring for a dying parent is one of life’s hardest challenges, but it can also be one of its most meaningful experiences. In Seeing Joy, Grabbe captures both the frustrations and the profound moments of magic that caregiving brings: the sleepless nights, the mundane meals, the unexpected joys and small triumphs. Through her vivid prose, we become one with the rhythms, regrets, and delights of Grabbe’s mother, Bea. This moving memoir reminds us that while we cannot keep our parents forever, we can witness and honor their final journey and help them ultimately let go of their exuberant, complicated, and fascinating lives.”–Marjan Kamali, author of The Lion Women of Tehran
“Alexandra Grabbe’s frank, sometimes rageful, and ultimately tender retelling of caring for her dying yet feisty and brilliant mother at home is fueled by accelerating moments of love and grace. Along the way, Grabbe shares her ninety-six-year-old mother’s visions of spirits, which spark questions about an afterlife. Seeing Joy is an invaluable read for anyone drawn to the sacred role of tending to a dying loved one.” -Jessica Brilliant Keener, author of Evening Begins the Day
“The courage and clarity in Seeing Joy by Alexandra Grabbe stunned me in its fearless rendering of a daughter caring for her mother in her final months. An exploration of the past melding into the present, Grabbe offers not only the difficulties but also the surprising blessedness and humor that surround them in their ultimate year together. There is courageous honesty on every page.”-Randy Susan Meyers, author of The Many Mothers of Ivy Puddingstone
Connect with Alexandra here:
Official Website: AlexandraGrabbe.com
Facebook: /alexandra.grabbe
Facebook: @alexandragrabbebooks
