Il ritorno dello tsunami. Generazione sandwich: vivere tra figli che spingono e genitori anziani che non mollano. Una guida illustrata

On one side, there’s your son who, in the dead of winter, categorically refuses to wear long pants; on the other, your mother who, despite multiple knee surgeries and poor eyesight, refuses to give up her beloved driver’s license. And then there’s you, in the midst of the daily tsunami, struggling to avoid yet another argument. Because, in addition to being parents of our children, we are also children of our parents. We are the middle generation, the interface between two overwhelming forces, both ready to defend their own vision of the world, often very distant from ours. After the success of  L’età dello tsunami, Barbara Tamborini and Alberto Pellai come to our aid with an illuminating insight: contrary to what is often thought, preadolescence and old age are two stages of life that are anything but polar opposites; in fact, they are incredibly similar. As our parents age, they become less independent but more stubborn in asserting their independence, the same independence their preadolescent children are desperately striving to achieve. Recognizing and understanding the common thread that unites their actions can become the key to improving intergenerational dialogue and learning to embrace, with greater lightheartedness and humor, the challenges and joys of these two delicate and precious ages. Thanks to the advice of the authors, leading experts in developmental psychology and parents of four children, the “sandwich generation” will finally be able to build bridges of dialogue and chart new paths to travel together.