I come from a line of them. Women who change the world through activism and love. Women who persevere through widowhood and cancer and displacement. Women who welcome others by opening their lives. And women who receive their strength from the Lord. Somehow I find my place; a little bit teacher, a little bit activist, a little bit minister and a little bit creative spirit. In the second half of life, I want to lean more and more in, as if I'm sitting across from all of them, steaming chai in their favorite cups, straining to hear their own dreams and voices and sorrows. I come from strong women. This summer is a tribute to them.
My great grandmother, once the national child welfare consultant for the Salvation Army, is quoted in the first one -- I never knew. The second one was given to me by my aunt after she was deemed cancer free. The third is an inscribed 1982 Christmas gift from my grandmother -- her favorite stories. The fourth is a woman whom I'm going to go hear tonight so she can sign my copy.
