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
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
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
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...]
237: The Self-Empowered Woman: Svetlana Alexievich
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
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...]
235: The Self-Empowered Woman: Anne-France Dautheville
Dear Followers, Just like you, I’m always on the lookout for stories about inspiring women. Last month, while I was working my way through a pile of reading material, I learned about a French woman who made headlines back in 1972, and now—at the age of 72—this “pioneer” has made headlines once again. The creative director of The Fashion House “Chloe,” Clare Waight Keller, was inspired for her fall 2016 collection by Anne-France Dautheville. … [Read more...]
231: The Self-Empowered Woman: Louise Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun
Dear Followers, I love sharing stories of unlikely Self-Empowered Women, and I just learned about a remarkably talented woman who is currently being honored at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Louise Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun was born in Paris on April 16th 1755. Her father was a portraitist and a fan painter, and he gave Louise Elisabeth her first childish art lessons because he recognized her early talent (4: Supportive Someone). But when she … [Read more...]
227: The Self-Empowered Woman: Mother Teresa
Dear Followers, Due to an unfortunate set of circumstances, I was unable to make a Facebook posting for Mother Teresa’s birthday on August 26th. So, for my penance, I have decided to create a Self-Empowered Woman blog for today (September 5th, 2015), which is the 18th anniversary of her death. At the time, the world was in mourning for Princess Diana, whose funeral took place on September 6th, 1997. Mother Teresa (whose birthname was Anjeze … [Read more...]