Do You Still Talk to Grandma?

When the Problematic People in Our Lives Are the Ones We Love

By: Brit Barron

Narrated by: Brit Barron

Renowned motivational speaker, teacher, and storyteller Brit Barron offers a path to holding on to our deepest convictions without losing relationships with the people we love.

“This book is so needed in a time when we are fresh off cancel culture and ready for a new way to process and interact with those with whom we don’t agree—whether virtually or in real life.”—Joy Cho, author and founder of Oh Joy!

Brit Barron gets it. Those people who hurt us with their bigotry and ignorance . . . they’re often the people we love: They’re our friends, our parents, our grandparents, and even our religious leaders. And what we want is for them to grow, not to be canceled by an online mob. So what can it look like to strive for justice without causing new harm or giving up on the people we love? Barron shows that the way forward is to create a gracious and risky space for people to learn and evolve. We need to form the sorts of relationships where we can tell difficult truths, set boundaries, forgive, and share stories of our own failings. And this starts with examining ourselves.

In Do You Still Talk to Grandma?, Barron draws listeners into this tension between relationship and accountability, sharing painful experiences from her own life, such as her parents’ divorce and belonging to a faith community that sided with the forces that dehumanize BIPOC and LGBTQ+ folks. Barron illuminates the challenges and hope for these relationships, showing that the best research points toward humility, self-awareness, an openness to learning, and remembering that others can learn too.

Barron envisions a redemptive way of being that allows progressives to love people who say or believe problematic things without sacrificing themselves, their values, or their beliefs. Provocative, charming, and vulnerable, Do You Still Talk to Grandma? is an essential listen for anyone struggling to live compassionately without giving up on conviction.

©2024 Brit Barron (P)2024 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Over the years, I’ve learned that success in business and life is all about the relationships we cultivate. Brit Barron’s Do You Still Talk to Grandma? offers vital strategies for strengthening these bonds, even while dealing with tough issues. There couldn’t be a better time for this book or a better author to write it. Trust me, it will spark the change you’ve been searching for in your relationships and life.”—Amy Porterfield, author of Two Weeks Notice

“We have all been in situations where someone says something or does something that disappoints us. Brit Barron dives into the profound and often conflicting topics of online judgment, and how we, as a culture, quickly react to others’ wrongdoings. This book is so needed in a time when we are fresh off cancel culture and ready for a new way to process and interact with those with whom we don’t agree—whether virtually or in real life. I love how Barron engages us in the importance of these hard conversations as a way to not only strengthen our society but also strengthen our real-life relationships.”—Joy Cho, author and founder of Oh Joy!

“Brit Barron has written a necessary, honest, and engaging guidebook for having the hard conversations necessary for growth, connection, and living in authentic community. Barron offers a comedic and gentle real-life tethering in a digital age, bringing us that much closer to a more connected and inclusive community.”—Arielle Estoria, author of The Unfolding

Heart Shfiting

This book is exactly what we need in the time and space in which we live. Brit gives voice and words to something we’re all feeling and yet can’t quite explain in an age of social media, cancel culture, racism, anti-racism (and the other isms), and offers a safe space to hold it all in our complexity of that which we call humanity.

excellent points to think on

I appreciated tge fresh perspective on current human animosity toward one another. I especially appreciated the ideas to rethink cancel culture.

Inspiring

In this time of such division this is a refreshing and hopeful antidote. A must read before holiday gatherings.

A thoughtful and un-angry letter to those hurting

I’ve had the pleasure of hearing Brit preach at New Abbey in LA. The voice she speaks to in this book is one of hurt and desire for justice. The journey to finding healing and clarity in a world where our loved ones can be problematic, is extremely difficult. Brit shines light on this issue and its complexities in a beautiful way, giving dignity to those who may have hurt us. This book is a poetic tribute to the life she has lived and the wisdom she has acquired from her journey. I will definitely be recommending this to my loved ones who may be needing the same healing and a fresh perspective on asking ourselves important questions and being curious.

An unfortunately much-needed forum in our current climate

Offering subversive challenges in a kind, accessible introspective and welcome manner conducive to moving the needle. Listening serves as a beautiful alternative to increasingly polarized divisive rhetoric. A great read to send to friends struggling to rebalance relationships in a post-election world.