Growing Up (with Judy Blume)

When Hillary was growing up, she and her friends didn’t have Judy Blume to guide them through the bewildering changes that come with puberty. She wishes they had. 

When Judy began writing as a young housewife raising two children in suburban New Jersey in the late 1960s, topics like menstruation, sex, bullying, divorce, and religion were considered taboo in books for young readers. Judy changed that, with titles like Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret, Blubber, Deenie, and Forever. 

These books struck a chord with millions of readers, but they also landed her in some hot water. Since the culture wars of the Reagan era, Judy's novels have consistently been found on the American Library Association's list of most banned books. 

Today, at age 85, Judy Blume is enjoying something of a renaissance. The film adaptation of Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret came out this past spring to critical acclaim, and there's a new documentary film about her on Amazon Prime. And while she is no longer writing novels, she is still connecting with young readers, especially when they come into the nonprofit bookstore that she and her husband run in Key West, Florida. 

In this wide-ranging conversation, Hillary and Judy touch on everything from comic books and sex education to book banning and the responsibility that comes with a mailbox full of letters from young people seeking guidance.

Read a full transcript HERE.

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