It's time to pay attention . . . Last December, as I created exercises for the Mother-Daughter Way focus on kinship, a typo got my attention. I kept misspelling “kinship” by adding the letter "d" and creating a new word – kindship. It happened so frequently, I had to pay attention. Why? Because, at the risk of sounding woo woo, I believe certain so-called errors arise from a deeper level of consciousness. Like the word, which spawned the idea, of a Kind Ship. That's why I write every day. I … [Read more...]
Malala: Standard-Bearer for Girls’ Rights to Education
This month of honoring women may be coming to a close, but it's been an opening for me in a way I never dreamed. As a writer who is given to privacy, revision, and possibly overworked revision, this blog accomplished what my mother said the shift to watercolors from oil paints did for her. I had to trust my instincts, post it, and let it go. Your responses have been awesome, and I will not crawl back under that rock any time soon. Thank you for reading, liking, and responding. So, yes, I'm … [Read more...]
Linda Waller Shockley, Protector of Stories and Places that Matter
Today, on the fiftieth anniversary of the March on Selma, I'd like to bring to light a woman whose quiet, steady work on behalf of social justice and memory has impressed and inspired me from the time I met her more than twenty years ago. Although her project has not gained the attention of Hollywood, yet, it should. We like to think of our democracy as just and equitable, but these painful stories of oppression, abuse, and prejudice continue to show up in our communities. Linda Waller … [Read more...]
The Amazing Madeleine
For the nineteenth profile of Women's History Month, I'm responding to a nomination from the field, gladly -- Cathy Smith shot me this Facebook message: "I'd like to throw out a name for your women's history month- Madeline Albright. Terry and I saw a wonderful exhibit concerning her famous pin collection and diplomacy. She is a strong woman who went toe to toe with world leaders." I shot back, "I LOVE her!" Well, where does the enthusiasm cool for this woman? I was totally hers from … [Read more...]
The First Woman to Win the Nobel Peace Prize
Jane Addams gets my cheer today for the seventeenth post about a woman who inspires me during this month of writing women back into history. When I was young, I read a story of grace and generosity in a biography of Jane Addams that I never forgot. As I recall, she had just begun to operate Hull House, her Chicago mission, and one night a thief broke into her room to steal from her. Although she had been startled awake, she maintained her composure. Rather than calling the police, she offered … [Read more...]
