Gail Sheehy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gail Sheehy
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Sheehy in 1981
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| Born | Gail Henion November 27, 1936 Mamaroneck, New York, U.S. |
| Died | August 24, 2020 (aged 83) Southampton, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Journalist, author |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of Vermont, Columbia University |
| Literary movement | New Journalism |
| Notable works | Passages; The Silent Passage; Understanding Men's Passages; Hillary's Choice; New Passages; Passages in Caregiving |
| Spouse |
Albert Francis Sheehy
(m. 1960; div. 1968)Clay Felker
(m. 1984; death 2008) |
Gail Sheehy (born Gail Henion; November 27, 1936 – August 24, 2020) was a famous American writer, journalist, and speaker. She wrote 17 books and many important articles for magazines like New York and Vanity Fair. Gail Sheehy was part of a writing style called New Journalism. This style used storytelling techniques, like setting scenes and showing characters' thoughts, to make non-fiction stories more exciting.
Many of her books looked at how society was changing. Her book Passages (1976) was even named one of the ten most important books of its time by the Library of Congress. Sheehy also wrote about famous leaders, including Hillary Clinton, Margaret Thatcher, and Mikhail Gorbachev. Her last book, Daring: My Passages (2014), was about her own life.
One of her most famous articles was "The Secret of Grey Gardens" in 1972. It told the unusual story of Jacqueline Kennedy's aunt and cousin. Their lives later became the basis for a film and a Broadway musical called Grey Gardens.
Contents
Gail Sheehy's Early Life and Education
Gail Sheehy was born in Mamaroneck, New York. Her mother's family came from Scotland and Ireland. Her grandmother, Agnes Rooney, even ran away from Northern Ireland to the United States as a mail-order bride.
Gail was very close to her grandmother, Gladys Latham Ovens, on her father's side. After her husband died during the Great Depression, Gladys became a successful real estate agent for over 40 years. She bought Gail her first typewriter when Gail was just seven years old. When Gail was a teenager, she would secretly visit New York City on Saturdays to explore. Her grandmother kept this a secret for her.
In 1958, Sheehy finished her studies at the University of Vermont. She earned a degree in English and home economics. Later, in 1970, she went back to school. She earned a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University. There, she studied with the famous anthropologist Margaret Mead.
Gail Sheehy's Journalism Career
Starting Out in the 1960s
Gail Sheehy's first job after college was at the J. C. Penney department store. She traveled around the country, putting on fashion shows for colleges. This is where she started writing professionally, creating content for company magazines and working with ad agencies.
In the early 1960s, Sheehy supported her husband through medical school while starting her journalism career. She worked for the Democrat and Chronicle newspaper in Rochester, New York, writing for the women's page. After moving to the East Village in New York City, she became a mother. She continued to write for various newspapers, including the New York Herald Tribune. In 1966, Sheehy decided to become a freelance journalist. She and her husband divorced in 1968.
Sheehy covered many important events in the 1960s. She reported on Robert F. Kennedy's political campaign in 1968, traveling with him and even interviewing him. She was on her way back to New York when Kennedy was sadly assassinated. She also covered the famous Woodstock music festival.
Sheehy was one of the first writers for New York magazine, from 1968 to 1977. Clay Felker, the magazine's founder and her future husband, encouraged her to write "big" stories. In 1969–70, she received a special fellowship to attend graduate school at Columbia University. Her professor, Margaret Mead, inspired Sheehy to study cultural trends. Sheehy later said that Mead taught her to "drop everything" and go witness major cultural events firsthand.
Writing and Books in the 1970s
In the 1970s, Sheehy wrote many high-profile articles and started writing books. Besides New York magazine, she also wrote a monthly article for Cosmopolitan. Her first story for them involved traveling to India to meet Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
Some of Sheehy's articles for New York magazine became books. These included her novel Lovesounds (1970) and Panthermania (1971). Lovesounds was a psychological novel about a marriage ending, inspired by her own first marriage.
In 1971, Sheehy wrote a series for New York magazine called "Wide Open City." She used the New Journalism style, with detailed descriptions and storytelling. One article, "Redpants and Sugarman," later became a book called Hustling. This book was even made into a 1975 NBC television movie starring Jill Clayburgh.
In the summer of 1971, Sheehy discovered the reclusive cousins of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. They were Little Edie Beale and her mother Big Edie Beale. They lived in a rundown mansion called Grey Gardens in East Hampton. Sheehy spent weekends with Little Edie, learning their story. She then wrote "The Secret of Grey Gardens" for New York magazine. After the article, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis helped clean up the property. The two women were later featured in the 1975 Grey Gardens documentary.
In 1972, Sheehy traveled to Northern Ireland to report on the Irish civil rights movement. She witnessed a tragic event known as Bloody Sunday. This experience deeply affected her. She later described it as a form of posttraumatic stress syndrome.
Around the mid-1970s, Sheehy began working on her famous book, Passages. She noticed that many people in their late thirties and early forties felt unsettled. She studied ideas about mid-life crisis and adult life stages. Sheehy created the term "Second Adulthood" to describe the balance that comes after these life changes. Passages was published in 1976 and became a huge success. It stayed on The New York Times Best Seller List for three years.
During this time, Sheehy also saw Rupert Murdoch take over New York magazine from Clay Felker. Felker then bought Esquire magazine, and Sheehy wrote for it, including a profile of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. In 1977, Sheehy joined the Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press. This group works to improve communication among women and connect the public with women's media.
Sheehy started her next book, Pathfinders, in 1978. This book looked at people who had lived very fulfilling lives and felt a sense of well-being. She worked with psychologists to create a questionnaire about life history. She found that people who achieved well-being were willing to take risks. They also handled important life changes in unique and creative ways.
Focus on Politics and Family in the 1980s
In the early 1980s, Sheehy started working with Cambodian refugees. She visited a camp in Thailand and met a Cambodian orphan girl named Mohm. Sheehy later adopted Mohm. Sheehy and Mohm wrote about their experiences in the 1986 book, Spirit of Survival.
In 1984, Vanity Fair magazine invited Sheehy to write profiles of political figures. She wrote about U.S. presidential candidates like Gary Hart and George H. W. Bush. These profiles became the basis for her 1988 book, Character: America's Search for Leadership.
Sheehy also helped organize the Sag Harbor Initiative in 1987. This event brought together thinkers and citizens to discuss important social issues.
New Books and Profiles in the 1990s
During the 1990s, Gail Sheehy published five books. These included Gorbachev: The Making of the Man Who Changed the World (1990), The Silent Passage (1992), New Passages (1995), Understanding Men's Passages (1998), and Hillary's Choice (1999).
Sheehy expanded her political profiles to include international leaders. She researched and interviewed both Margaret Thatcher and Mikhail Gorbachev. Her article on Gorbachev was a Vanity Fair cover story in 1990. She then expanded her research into a book, The Man Who Changed the World, published just as Gorbachev won the Nobel Peace Prize. Sheehy also wrote a play called Maggie and Misha, based on a fantasy romance between Gorbachev and Thatcher.
In 1992, Sheehy published The Silent Passage, a book about menopause. She noticed that no one was talking about this natural life stage. After appearing on The Oprah Winfrey Show, the book became a #1 bestseller on the New York Times list.
In 1994, Sheehy and Clay Felker moved to California. Felker taught and started the Felker Magazine Center at the University of California, Berkeley.
Sheehy wrote about Hillary Clinton three times for Vanity Fair in the 1990s. These articles covered Clinton's time as First Lady and her run for the New York Senate. This work led to Sheehy's biography, Hillary's Choice.
Later Career in the 2000s and 2010s
Even while caring for Clay Felker, who was ill with cancer, Sheehy continued to write. She published an article called "Who Cares for the Caregiver?" in Parade magazine. After Felker's death in 2008, Sheehy became AARP's Caregiving Ambassador. She worked with AARP on articles, videos, and blog posts about caregiving. She then wrote a book on the topic, Passages in Caregiving: Turning Chaos into Confidence, published in 2010. She also wrote a play, Chasing the Tiger, about her relationship with Felker.
In 2014, Sheehy published her own memoir, Daring: My Passages. In 2019, she created and produced her podcast series Kid Rebels with Gail Sheehy.
Gail Sheehy's Personal Life
In 1960, Gail Sheehy married Albert Francis Sheehy, a medical student. They had one daughter, Maura. They divorced in 1968. In 1984, Sheehy married editor Clay Felker. They adopted a Cambodian child named Mohm. Felker passed away in 2008.
Gail Sheehy died in Southampton, New York, on August 24, 2020. She was 83 years old and passed away from complications of pneumonia.
Awards and Recognition
Gail Sheehy received many awards for her journalism and writing:
- Seven-time winner of the New York Newswomen's Club Front Page Award for Distinguished Journalism.
- Washington Journalism Review Award for Best Magazine Writer in America.
- New York Public Library Literary Lions Award.
- 1973 National Magazine Award for Report Excellence.
- 1975 Penney-Missouri Award.
- 1987 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for The Spirit of Survival.
- 1994 Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Dartmouth.
- 1997 Hospital for Special Surgery Award For Groundbreaking Work in Women's Health.
- 2002 American Psychological Association's Presidential Citation.
- 2011 American Society on Aging Leadership Award.
The Library of Congress named her book Passages one of the 10 most influential books of its time.
Professional Affiliations and Media Appearances
In 2009, Sheehy was named AARP's Caregiver Ambassador. In 2011, she became a Chairwoman for the National Osteoporosis Foundation's "Generations of Strength" campaign.
Sheehy was a frequent guest on many television shows. She appeared on NBC's The Today Show, MSNBC's Hardball, ABC's World News Tonight, Good Morning America, Oprah, and CBS Sunday Morning. She was also a guest on CNN, Larry King Live, and Fox News.
In July 2015, Sheehy was interviewed on Huffpost Live to talk about her 2014 memoir, Daring.
