the whole notion of "character" for breakfast—are reduced to the role of helpless gossips, swapping avid hunches about the possible fates of the characters. You're involved before you even notice you were paying attention." Author's comments on novel and characters "I plotted Back When We Were Grownups just after emerging from a year in which there had been several losses and serious illnesses in my family. I wanted my next novel to be full of joy and celebration, which is how I ended up with a main character who earned her living throwing parties. That a sense of loss shows through anyway, at a later point in the book, is proof that the subconscious always tends to triumph in the end." [Tyler's husband, Taghi Modarressi died of lymphoma in 1997; this novel was finally published in 2001.] "Rebecca is no more astute—or less—than most of us about her reasons for doing things. If people were fully conscious of their motives, novelists wouldn't have anything to write novels about." "I'm very fond of Peter. I like his curiosity and his active mind; I think he's going to grow up to be a very interesting young man." "Someday, Zeb and Rebecca are going to marry. The Davitches will be taken aback at first, but they'll warm to the idea whole-heartedly as soon as they've adjusted." Films Susanna Styron adapted the novel for a CBS Hallmark Hall of Fame production that first aired on November 21, 2004. Starring Blythe Danner, Peter Fonda, Jack Palance (in his final film before his death in 2006), Faye Dunaway, Peter Riegert, Ione Skye, Anjul Nigam, and Jonathon Pickett, it was directed by Ron Underwood. It garnered both Emmy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Danner. External links New York Times review Internet Movie Database listing Biography and capsule review of Back When We Were Grownups References 2001 American novels Hallmark Hall of Fame episodes Alfred A. Knopf books Novels by Anne Tyler Novels set in Baltimore American novels adapted into television shows American novels adapted into films 2004 television films 2004 films Films directed by Ron Underwood