Beverly Beckham describes herself as a daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, writer, author, and cabaret performer.  

Her columns and books are personal with themes that spring from daily life. What sets her writing apart is the way she reflects on these experiences and mines the truth to make personal events universal and relevant to her readers. 

Her writings are inspired by people, nature, discoveries, books and random thoughts. “I believe I was meant to write,”  she says. “It’s not always easy. I write and I re-write. But after all these years, I trust that the words will eventually come.” The words have been coming for 47 years. Readers of her Boston Globe column and of the books she has written hope they will continue for many more.

The Early Years

Beckham’s love of storytelling began because of the tales her grandmother told her when she was a young child. She wrote all through her childhood and through her teens until her freshman year of college when an English teacher wrote in red pen, “TRITE!” on every one of her essays.  She quit writing then until she was 30. But she never stopped wanting to write and has been writing professionally for more than 40 years.

Columns

Beckham has written weekly newspaper columns for 42 years, first working for the Patriot Ledger, then the Boston Herald and now the Boston Globe. She also wrote a monthly column for Grandparents.com until its demise and is a frequent contributor to the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" book series.

Books

Beckham is the author of "A Gift of Time," a collection of personal essays, "Back Then, A Memoir of Childhood” and "The Best of Beverly Beckham" an e-book published by the Boston Globe.

Life

She lives in Canton, Massachusetts with her husband, Bruce. She has three children and eight grandchildren whose milestones, passages and journeys are often woven into her columns creating common ground and an emotional connection with her readers.

Having always enjoyed singing, she took a cabaret class just for fun when she was 60. That class led to more classes which led to her singing at an open mic in Boston, which led to her writing and performing her own cabaret show, sometimes alone and sometimes with her daughters. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5aEAUdT_AY. In addition to writing and singing,  Beckham loves photography and gardening. 

She has been honored by Mothers Against Drunk Driving for “Outstanding journalism in the fight against drinking and driving,” has received Boston’s “Women Amongst Us” Grimke Award in recognition of her “efforts and contribution to the Boston Community” and the Dr. Adrian Rondileau Award for “professional achievement and community service.”  She also served as a Board Member of the Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress and is now an Honorary Member. 

Why this website?

“Readers are always asking me for past columns, which I can never find because I can’t find anything. Organization is not my greatest skill,” Beckham says. “My goal is to create a space where almost everything I’ve written, columns, books, cabaret shows, can be easily accessed.  I found someone who knows what she’s doing and this site is the result. It’s a work in progress.  We have a long way to go because, as I said, I can’t find anything. So hold tight. This is only the beginning. 

The Eternals

Times change. We all know this. But life, death, joy, despair, happiness, heartache, stops and starts, successes and failures, the way you feel on the first warm day after a long, cold winter, the way you feel when someone breaks your heart. These are things that never change. These are what I call the eternals.

Many of the columns you will find here are about these eternals, about the things that we all share. Many are about family. Many are about friends. Some are about a crazy dog named Molly who died a long time ago. She cost us a fortune in vet bills. But we loved her. Anyway, if you like what you read, please let me know.