When Generations Connect with Author Gayle Forman

“I really wish I had spent more time with my grandparents.”

That one regret is what first led Gayle Forman to DOROT.

Years before she became a #1 New York Times bestselling author, Gayle was new to New York and looking for a way to fill that space. We connected her with an older woman named Ollie. A weekly visit grew into one of the most meaningful relationships of her life, and decades later, it became a novel.

Visiting DOROT recently for a book talk, Gayle shared that origin story, along with how her own family history shaped Not Nothing, her novel about an unlikely bond between a 12-year-old boy and a 107-year-old Holocaust survivor—and the idea of “rising to the occasion” of our lives.

Then came the heart of the night.

Gayle led a lively conversation between the teens and older adults in the audience—the kind of intergenerational exchange DOROT programming is built around.

Early in the discussion, one grandmother shared that she felt stuck trying to have a meaningful conversation with her teenage grandchildren. Over the course of the afternoon, both teens and older adults offered up ideas that had worked for them.

A few other moments that stayed with us:

• One older guest learned about KPop Demon Hunters after a room full of five-year-olds sang every song at her granddaughter’s birthday party. So, she watched the movie—and even went to a theater sing-along—to keep up with what the kids she loves are into. Now she’s a fan.
• Another grandmother described how telling a funny story about an old icebox that overflowed and sent a river across the kitchen floor finally got her grandkids leaning in and asking more questions.
• A teenager described how her grandfather sends her Jamaican TikToks every single day, more than she can even keep up with. She doesn’t always get the humor, but she watches them anyway, because that back and forth is how the two of them stay connected.

The “wisdom” flowed in both directions. Older adults and teenagers were just as ready to listen as they were to share.

Connection across generations can seem challenging, but they’re built in small moments of sharing like these.

Learn more about DOROT’s intergenerational programs >

Explore Gayle Forman’s books >