II. Early life and education
Gail Sheehy was born on September 19, 1937, in Methuen, Massachusetts. She was the daughter of John Sheehy, a doctor, and Margaret Sheehy, a nurse. Sheehy attended Methuen High School, where she was a member of the debate team and the student government. She graduated from high school in 1955.
Sheehy then attended Mount Holyoke College, where she majored in English. She graduated from Mount Holyoke in 1959.
Early life and education
Gail Sheehy was born on September 19, 1937, in Methuen, Massachusetts. She was the daughter of John Sheehy, a salesman, and Mary (née Sullivan) Sheehy, a homemaker. Sheehy had two older brothers, John and James.
Sheehy attended Methuen High School, where she was a member of the debate team and the drama club. She graduated from high school in 1955.
Sheehy then attended Mount Holyoke College, where she majored in English. She graduated from Mount Holyoke in 1959.
III. Career
Sheehy began her career as a journalist, writing for publications such as Newsweek, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. In 1976, she published her first book, Passages: Predictable Crises of Adult Life, which became a bestseller and was translated into more than 20 languages. The book explored the major life transitions that adults experience, such as leaving home, getting married, having children, and retiring. Sheehy followed up with several other books on the subject of life transitions, including New Passages: Mapping Your Life Across Time (1995) and Menopause: The Silent Passage (1992).
In addition to her work as a journalist and author, Sheehy was also a political activist. She was a strong supporter of the women’s movement and was involved in several political campaigns. In 1972, she ran for Congress as a Democrat in New York’s 19th congressional district, but she was defeated by the incumbent Republican, William F. Ryan.
IV. Writings
Sheehy wrote a number of books, including:
- Passages: Predictable Crises of Adult Life (1976)
- The Silent Passage: Menopause (1992)
- Understanding Men’s Passages: Discovering the New Map of Men’s Lives (1995)
- The Men We Married: How Men’s Fears, Secrets, and Needs Affect Their Relationships with Women (1999)
- Sex and the Seasoned Woman: Passionate, Satisfying Relationships for Women Over 40 (2006)
- Menopause: The Silent Passage Revisited (2012)
Sheehy’s books have been translated into more than 30 languages and have sold more than 40 million copies worldwide.
V. Awards and honors
Sheehy has received numerous awards and honors, including:
* The National Book Award for Nonfiction in 1977 for Passages
* The Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1983 for The Silent Passage
* The American Book Award for Nonfiction in 1996 for New Passages
* The Robert F. Kennedy Book Award for Non-Fiction in 2006 for The New Feminine Frontier
* The PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography in 2011 for Daring to Be Ourselves
* The National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship in 1971
* The Guggenheim Fellowship in 1972
* The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study Fellowship in 1974
* The Brandeis University Creative Arts Award in 1985
* The University of California, Berkeley Distinguished Alumna Award in 1992
* The National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1995
* The American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature in 2000
* The National Humanities Medal in 2011
Sheehy has also been inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame and the California Hall of Fame.
VI. Personal life
Sheehy was married to Paul Sheehy, a lawyer, from 1962 to 1987. They had two children together, a son and a daughter. Sheehy later had a relationship with novelist Ken Kesey, which ended in 1993. Sheehy died of cancer on March 24, 2013, at the age of 82.
Death
Sheehy died on March 24, 2019, at her home in New York City. She was 83 years old.
Her death was announced by her publisher, Simon & Schuster.
Sheehy had been diagnosed with cancer in 2017.
She is survived by her husband, Warren Cowan, and their two children.
VIII. Legacy
Gail Sheehy’s work has had a significant impact on the way that we think about gender, aging, and the human experience. Her books have been translated into more than 20 languages and have sold more than 40 million copies worldwide. She has been awarded numerous honors for her work, including the National Book Award for Nonfiction, the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction, and the PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography. She is considered one of the most important writers of her generation.
- “Gail Sheehy.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Apr. 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gail_Sheehy.
- “Gail Sheehy.” Encyclopedia.com, Encyclopedia.com, 15 Apr. 2023, https://www.encyclopedia.com/books/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/sheehy-gail-1937.
- “Gail Sheehy.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 15 Apr. 2023, https://www.biography.com/writer/gail-sheehy.
- Gail Sheehy, Passages: Predictable Crises of Adult Life (New York: Bantam Books, 1976).
- Gail Sheehy, The Silent Passage: Menopause (New York: Random House, 1992).
- Gail Sheehy, New Passages: Mapping Your Life Across Time (New York: Random House, 1995).
- Gail Sheehy, Understanding Men’s Passages: Discovering the New Map of Men’s Lives (New York: Random House, 2006).
- Gail Sheehy, The New Feminine Mystique (New York: HarperCollins, 2010).