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Boston's
just fine as a two-Beckham town
By Jay Turner
Citizen Staff
Without the
details, the story of Beverly Beckham and Lauren Beckham Falcone
seems perfectly scripted and sugary sweet: daughter follows in
the footsteps of her mother to become a popular Boston
columnist; the two of them live just five doors down from each
other and are like two peas in a pod.
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Lauren Beckham Falcone and Beverly Beckham |
It’s neat and
it’s clean; and there is even a plot twist in this inspirational
story as the two Canton residents work for competing newspapers:
Beverly at the Globe and daughter Lauren at the Herald.
But for the
real-life pair who actually do share a job title and really are
very close, it is the differences — in experiences, in writing
styles, in career paths — that seem to stand out more than
anything else.
“We do such
different things,” observed Beverly, an award-winning columnist
whose career has spanned three decades at the Patriot Ledger,
Herald, and now the Globe.
A
self-proclaimed “sentimentalist,” Beverly said she writes about
family and relationships and tries to give a voice to the
voiceless, whereas Lauren, who recently became a regular
columnist for the Herald’s lifestyle section, is more of the
quick-witted observer type who covers everything from popular
culture to fashion to current events.
“I’m a Gen Xer
with a column and my mother’s a boomer with a column,” Lauren
explained, “and I think our generations come through within the
stories that we write.”
Lauren said
those differences were even explored during a recent taping she
did with her mother for WCVB’s Chronicle, which is set to air
sometime in February. She said the interview, which is part of a
broader segment examining where her generation has ended up,
also touched on their highly unusual circumstances as one of the
few mother-daughter writing tandems in one of the last
two-newspaper towns left standing in the country.
That reality
alone, according to Lauren, is enough to reveal the generational
gap, as her mother became a fixture as a columnist at a time
when everyone read newspapers, while Lauren’s “entire career
trajectory has been based on keeping [her] job.”
“We’re all
very aware that this business is changing and that we have to
change with it,” she said, “and we might not be able to be along
for the ride.”
But Lauren
said she is doing her best to enjoy the ride while it lasts and
has loved every bit of her time at the Herald, including her
previous jobs as an editorial assistant, reporter and feature
writer. She still writes feature stories and her columns now
appear every Tuesday and Thursday. She has also done commentary
on television, and she especially enjoys going on the radio for
segments on KISS 108.
Lauren said
she relates to her mother as a writer and has drawn inspiration
from her fearlessness and honesty, but never went into the
business intending to become a columnist. And now that she has,
she still views her mother’s work as totally separate from her
own.
“Her columns
are the yellowed clippings that stay on your refrigerator for
years,” she said, noting that she never minded being the subject
of a particular story because she had always grown up with it.
One of
Beverly’s favorite subjects in recent years has been her
grandchildren, including Lauren’s 5-year-old daughter, Lucy, who
has Down Syndrome. Beverly has also written about Lucy for the
internet site grandparents.com and was recently honored with the
media award from the Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress for
her inspiring stories of love and hope.
Beverly in
fact, seems to be in the business of touching people’s lives
with her writing, and she prides herself on being an advocate
for those in need of a voice. Already an author of two books,
including a memoir of her childhood, entitled “Back Then,” as
well as a collection of columns, Beverly said she would love to
put out another book of columns at some point in the future. She
also is a contributor to the Chicken Soup for the Soul series
and has been a frequent guest on various radio and television
programs.
Although she
has been writing since Lauren was a child, Beverly said her
daughter has also become “very good at what she does,” and she
is admittedly envious of Lauren’s ability to write quality
columns in what seems like no time at all. By contrast, Beverly
is her own biggest critic and is never fully satisfied with the
end product, even as thousands of devoted readers say otherwise.
And yet as
different as the two writers can be, they remain each other’s
biggest fans, with Beverly calling Lauren’s bi-weekly columns
not just appointment reading, but “immediate reading.” Even the
two newspapers, who are likely more competitive at a time when
very few cities have more than one daily paper left, seem to
think Boston is still big enough for two Beckhams.
“It works,”
said Beverly of her entire relationship with Lauren, both
personal and professional. “We’re so lucky. We’re very close.”
February 5, 2009
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