Dear Followers, One of the things that I love about The Self-Empowered Woman project is that the members are so diverse. One day I'm learning about a woman in Zimbabwe, the next I'm researching a novelist in London, then I'm learning about a Hollywood director or a South American activist. Today, I'd like to honor an amazing woman who died this week in Oklahoma at the age of 64.Wilma Mankiller was the first female cheif of the Cherokee nation. … [Read more...]

Dear Followers, Today I'd like to write about a working class girl from Edinburgh (born Muriel Sarah Camberg in 1918) who became a best selling author (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie), lived in Italy, bought a race horse from the Queen of England, and became Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1993. Her father was a Jewish engineer, her mother was an English music teacher, and as a child she loved literature and read … [Read more...]

Dear Followers, I have been doing a lot of talks lately about The Self-Empowered Woman, and am intrigued by the fact that audience members are almost always interested in Mother Teresa's story. So today (since it is March Madness) I thought I'd share the story of another nun who has accomplished a great deal and done so without a lot of fanfare. Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio may not hold a handful of NCAA Championships, but they … [Read more...]

Dear Followers, Today's post is about a story that seems hard to believe, but is (unfortunately) true. In 2008, the parents of a nine year old little girl in Yemen - Nujood Ali - married off their daughter to a deliveryman in his 30s. Her mother wasn't happy, but didn't protest because "In our country it's the men who give the orders, and the women who follow them." Nujood's father asked the deliveryman (now his son-in-law) not to touch . … [Read more...]

Dear Followers, Sorry for the gap in blogs, but the Olympics captured my attention more than they should have. Anyway, I'm back on track and ready to share more stories. Next week I'll be speaking at the West Palm Beach Library as part of their Women's History Month program (March 16th, 4 to 5pm, Clematis Room), so I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to explore how Women's History Month came into being. In 1911, in Europe, … [Read more...]

Dear Followers, Today's amazing woman is 26 year old Lindsey Vonn, who yesterday became the first American woman to ever win Oylmpic Gold in downhill skiing. Like so many high achievers, Vonn has a variety of the 17 traits of Self-Empowered Women. The story began when she was two years old and began skiing (2: An Early Sense of Direction). Her father, Alan Kildow, had been a national junior sky champion before a knee injury put an end to his … [Read more...]

Dear Followers, Today's amazing woman is the recording artist Sade, born Helen Folasade Adu in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Her father (Bisi Adu, a Nigerian lecturer in Economics) and her mother (Anne Hayes, an English nurse) met in London, moved to Nigeria, and separated when Sade was four years old (1: No Paternal Safety Net). Sade and her older brother moved to England, and lived with their maternal grandparents and their mother. While in … [Read more...]

Dear Followers, Today I'd like to share the story of a most unlikely Self-Empowered Woman. Florence Nightingale was born on May 12, 1820 (in Florence, Italy), and died in her sleep on August 13, 1910 in London. During her lifetime she initiated the role of women as nurses, and profoundly improved conditions for soldiers in the UK and abroad. Unlike most Self-Empowered Women, Florence Nightingale's father played both a supportive and a … [Read more...]