Back When We Were Grownups

Back When We Were Grownups is a 2001 novel written by Anne Tyler in memory of her husband, who died in 1997.

Tyler's 15th novel, set in Baltimore, Maryland like most of her work, opens with the sentence, "Once upon a time, there was a woman who discovered she had turned into the wrong person." The woman in question is Rebecca Davitch, a 53-year-old widow, mother, grandmother, and proprietor of a party and catering business run from her home called Open Arms. At an engagement party for one of her stepdaughters, she finds herself questioning everything about her life, and decides to take steps to resurrect her former self. Her self-improvement project includes a visit to her hometown in Virginia, contacting her college sweetheart, now divorced and living nearby, and renewing her intellectual interests, without abandoning her many matriarchal and professional duties.

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, 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.