Bio

BOOKS:

For more information about my books, go to the Books page on this site.

  • Author, THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING. Written in consultation with pediatrician Laura M. Marks, M.D. (Workman, Bantam, 1972; 4th  edition 2010).  A classic in the field; more than two million copies in print. (I’m currently a consultant on www.allexperts.com, answering questions about breastfeeding and child care.)
  • Author, SUPER GRANNY: GREAT STUFF TO DO WITH YOUR GRANDKIDS. (Sterling Publishing, March 2009). 75 true stories about activities that today’s grandmothers do with their grandchildren, with suggestions for readers who want to do the same things. Contemporary doings like using computers, cell phones & other technology, shared sports, and special travel experiences, along with traditional activities, often with a 21st-century spin. I’m eager to hear from any grandmothers about activities you do with your grandchildren. Email me or post to my blog: http://omasally.blogspot.com.
  • Author, A BALCONY IN NEPAL: GLIMPSES OF A HIMALAYAN VILLAGE (ASJA Press, 2002; Adarsh Enterprises, New Delhi, 2004). In 1993 my friend Margaret Roche and I went to Badel, a village in Nepal’s eastern hills, where we stayed with local families. This book, graced by 50 of Marge’s drawings, shows what we learned on this and subsequent visits in a village with no electricity, no telephones, no modern sanitation.
  • Author, THE WORKING PARENTS’ SURVIVAL GUIDE (iUniverse 2000, Prima Publishing, 1989; Bantam Books, 1983,1986).
  • Author, THE ETERNAL GARDEN: SEASONS OF OUR SEXUALITY (Times Books, 1985).
  • Coauthor, HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, a college text about development throughout the life span. Written with psychologist Diane E. Papalia, Ph.D. (McGraw-Hill, 1978; 10th edition, 2007). More than 900,000 copies sold.
  • Coauthor, A CHILD’S WORLD: INFANCY THROUGH ADOLESCENCE, a college text on child development. Written with Dr. Papalia (McGraw-Hill, 1975; 10th edition 2006). More than 600,000 copies sold. Basis for television course, “The Growing Years.” More than 2 million students have read one of these bestselling textbooks.
  • Coauthor, HELPING YOUR CHILD FIND VALUES TO LIVE BY: A GOLD MINE OF STRATEGIES AND EXERCISES FOR FAMILIES. Written with educator Dr. Sidney B. Simon. (Values Press, 1991; Simon & Schuster, 1976; McGraw-Hill, 1977).
  • Coauthor, RAISING A HYPERACTIVE CHILD. Written with psychiatrist Mark A. Stewart, M.D. (Harper & Row, 1973). Winner, FSAA Award (see below).
  • Coauthor, PSYCHOLOGY, a college textbook. Written with Dr. Papalia. (McGraw-Hill, 1985; 2nd edition, 1988). Most successful new Introductory Psychology textbook for 1985.
  • Author, THE MOTHER WHO WORKS OUTSIDE THE HOME (Child Study Press, 1975).


ARTICLES:
More than 200 of my articles have been published in such major magazines asMcCall’s, Woman’s Day, Redbook, Ladies’ Home Journal, Working Woman, Mademoiselle, Ms., New York Times Magazine, Newsday Magazine, New Woman, Pennsylvania Gazette, Self, Good Housekeeping, Parents’, Reader’s Digest, Family Health, Seventeen, others. Most deal with child development, family life, human relations, women’s lives, mental health or medicine. My travel articles have appeared in The New York Times and other major newspapers, and my work has been reprinted in many textbooks and anthologies.


AWARDS:
American Society of Journalists & Authors Career Achievement Award (2010). May W. Newburger Women’s Roll of Honor (2010). Profiled in Feminists Who Changed America (Univ. of Illinois Press, 2006). Elected to the Court of Honor of Distinguished Daughters of The Philadelphia High School for Girls (2006). ASJA Outstanding Article Award (1995, 1983). Family Service Association of America, National Media Award (1973); Listed in The World Who’s Who of Women, International Authors and Writers Who’s Who and Contemporary Authors.


SPEAKING:
Speaker and lecturer to professional, parent, and general audiences. Numerous appearances on radio and TV throughout the country.


INTERVIEWING:
After being accepted to a rigorous training program given by The Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, I conducted numerous interviews of Holocaust survivors and of men and women who served in the Allied forces during World War Two. Working with the Oral History Department of Columbia University, I have interviewed people affected by the attacks on the World Trade Center. I have also interviewed health care providers and volunteer fire-fighters for the Local History Center of the Port Washington Public Library.


PROFESSIONAL AND CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS:
Former President and lifetime member, American Society of Journalists and Authors(www.asja.org); member Authors Guild, Mensa, National Organization for Women, La Leche League, Reach Out America (grass-roots political activism), Veteran Feminists of America, other groups.


EDUCATION:
Graduated summa cum laude from University of Pennsylvania, B.A. in English literature. Phi Beta Kappa. Graduated summa cum laude from all-academic and selective public high school, Philadelphia High School for Girls.


MY WONDERFUL FAMILY:
With my late husband of almost 54 years, radio broadcaster David Mark Olds, I lived in Port Washington, New York for 42 years and am now living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. I have three delightful and accomplished daughters: Nancy Olds, Ph.D., a biologist, test developer, writer and editor; Jennifer Olds Moebus, pianist, flutist, and half-marathoner; and Dorri Olds, a web designer, social media consultant, writer and fellow member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors. (For information about Dorri, go to www.dorriolds.com). And I have five delightful grandchildren, Stefan, Maika, Anna, Lisa, and Nina. (Need I say that all my children and grandchildren were breastfed?)


MY PHILOSOPHY:
I believe that all parents are working parents; that parents employed outside the home need special support; that mothers’ well-being is crucial to their children’s welfare; and that the family is the best institution in the world and the one for which we are least prepared. My thrills come when parents or kids tell me that they were helped by my writing or speaking or just understanding. While raising my three children to adulthood, I kept my sense of humor! I’ve had many questions of my own along the way, and as the result of extensive research (including consulting many professionals in many fields), I am happy to offer sound, sensible advice on breastfeeding, child care and family issues. I also believe that it’s never too late to live your dreams—as I did when I ran a marathon at 60, trekked in Nepal at 70, bungy-jumped at 73, and as I plan to continue doing in other ways.


HAVING FUN:
When I am not writing or consulting or speaking or interviewing, I jog, travel, read, go to movies and theater, hike, ride my bicycle, write letters, spend time with my family and friends, and think about how lucky I am.