Dear Followers, Today I’d like to introduce you to a young woman who has really captured my attention. Cassie De Pecol recently became the fastest person—and first documented female—to travel to every single one of the world’s 196 sovereign nations. She completed her voyage in February of this year, after 18 months and 26 days of travel. Cassie’s big adventure was nicknamed “Expedition 196.” Sadly, I am no longer able to hop on a plane and … [Read more...]
242: The Self-Empowered Woman: Ona Judge
March 6, 2017 By
Dear Followers, Hard as it is to believe today, the sad truth is that most of our Founding Fathers were slaveholders. Today I’d like to introduce you to an amazing woman who gained her freedom by escaping from her owner—Mrs. George Washington. Ona Judge (she was also known as Oney) was born in 1773, and known as a “dower slave.” Her mother was a seamstress and her father was a white English tailor who was an indentured servant at Mount … [Read more...]
241: The Self-Empowered Woman: Maria Sibylla Merian
February 27, 2017 By
Dear Followers, I love stories about brave women who will do anything to follow their passion. So when I learned about Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717), I wanted to share this amazing story of a Self-Empowered Woman from centuries ago. She was a descendant of the Swiss Merian family, who were founders of one of Europe’s largest publishing houses back in the 17th century. Her father died when she was only three years old (1: No Paternal Safety … [Read more...]
240: The Self-Empowered Woman: Clare Hollingworth
January 17, 2017 By
Dear Followers, Last Wednesday, the first female war correspondent died in Hong Kong at the age of 105. Today, journalism is—for the most part—a relatively gender-free career, but it wasn’t always that way. Hollingworth, the most fearless of British women war writers, was born on October 10 th , 1911 in central England. Historians believe that the seeds of her future career were planted when—as a young girl she was able to visit historical … [Read more...]
238: The Self-Empowered Woman: Because I was a Girl
November 20, 2016 By
Dear Followers, It’s no secret that I am one of millions of American women who were deeply saddened that we still have to wait (again) to have a female president. Like so many feminists, I had hoped that the glass ceiling that has “contained” our gender for so long would have shattered for good last Tuesday evening. Unfortunately, that was not to be. As you know, each of my blogs has attempted to show the strength and resilience of women … [Read more...]
237: The Self-Empowered Woman: Svetlana Alexievich
November 11, 2016 By
Dear Followers, During the past couple of weeks there has been a lot of attention devoted to the fact that Bob Dylan just won the Nobel Prize for literature. After all, it’s unusual for an iconic recording artist to receive such a prestigious award. But today, I would like to introduce you to the woman who is considered to be the first journalist who has ever won the Nobel Prize in Literature—a Belarusian investigative journalist who is a … [Read more...]
236: The Self-Empowered Woman: Carla Diane Hayden
October 20, 2016 By
Dear Followers, My closest friends and family know only too well how thrilled I was to receive a photocopy of my “listing” at the Library of Congress. Somehow, seeing my name and the titles of my books—and knowing that they were part of America’s most esteemed library—really put a big smile on my face. Definitely one of those “Check your ego at the door” moments… Today, I’d like to introduce you to the 14th Librarian of Congress, Carla … [Read more...]
234: The Self-Empowered Woman: Maria Grazia Chiuri
July 30, 2016 By
Dear Followers, I don’t know about you, but after emotionally dealing with our electoral politics, BREXIT, the situation in Dallas, and the massacre in Nice, I’m in the mood for something that is relatively removed from world events. And even though anything that affects women anywhere in the world is “political,” today I’d like to focus on a groundbreaking event in the “lightweight” world of fashion. Last week it became public knowledge … [Read more...]
233: The Self-Empowered Woman: Sybilla Masters
May 25, 2016 By
Dear Followers, Two months ago, I was really inspired by the Microsoft commercial about female inventors. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8DBwchocvs. My latest blog will introduce you to the very first American female inventor… The first recorded mention of Sybilla Masters is in the records of the New Jersey Colony in 1692. Her parents, William and Sarah Righton, were Quakers who had moved from Bermuda in 1687, and in … [Read more...]
