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Women in the Arena
Women in the Arena is the celebration of everyday women living extraordinary lives in plain sight. We seek to inspire, encourage and challenge you to reach for the great heights you're made for.
Women in the Arena
Rewriting Norms: Women Who Redefined Expectations & Shaped History with Laura Carroll
What if you could redefine what it means to live a fulfilled life? This week on Women in the Arena, we welcome the distinguished author Laura Carroll, who's spent over two decades studying women without children. Join us for an enlightening journey through her latest work, A Special Sisterhood: 100 Fascinating Women from History Who Have Never Had Children. Discover the immense contributions of childless women throughout history and challenge societal norms to explore how you can lead a meaningful life beyond outdated expectations.
✨ Awe-Inspiring Stories of Trailblazing Women ✨
- 🏛️ Artemis: The Greek goddess known for her fierce protectiveness.
- 🎖️ Opha Mae Johnson: The pioneering first female Marine.
- 🗳️ Shirley Chisholm: A political powerhouse who broke barriers.
Laura draws compelling modern-day parallels, likening Artemis's influence to Oprah's impact on young women today, and celebrates how these historic figures continue to inspire us.
🔍 Reflect on Your Choices 🔍
- 📰 Jovita Idar: A fearless journalist and activist.
- 🏕️ Juliette Gordon Low: The visionary founder of the Girl Scouts.
Their stories underscore the importance of pursuing one's passions and living authentically, regardless of societal pressures. Join us as we honor these remarkable women and encourage you to live with intention and purpose, carving out a life path that's uniquely your own.
https://lauracarroll.com/
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***Last thing- This is my WISH LIST of interviews:
• Joan Jett
• Dolly Parton
• Viola Davis
• Ina Garten
Maybe you can help a girl out...***
Go check out all of our episodes on our website at: https://womeninthearena.net/
If you'd like to connect, reach out to me at audra@womeninthearena.net
***One last thing...I have an interview wish list because a girl's gotta dream
- Viola Davis
- Dolly Parton
- Ina Garten
- Joan Jett
Maybe one of you can help me out!
Thank you all for supporting this show and all Women in the Arena!
Welcome in everyone and thank you so much for joining me again this week. This week we're going to have a lot of fun. I cannot wait for you to meet my guest. My guest this week is Laura Carroll, and she, oh she has a lot of energy and I can't wait for you to meet her.
Audra :Laura Carroll is an author and she's an esteemed author and for 20 years she has studied women without children. She's the author of six books, including the book we're going to discuss today, which is A Special Sisterhood 100 Fascinating Women from History who have Never had Children. She has also contributed to textbooks. Has been featured on network television. She has also contributed to textbooks. Has been featured on network television, many radio talk shows and public radio. Her articles and work have appeared in many print and digital media, including Fortune, the Wall Street Journal, the Guardian, new York Magazine and Women's Health.
Audra :It is my pleasure and my honor to introduce to you Laura. Laura, thank you so much for being here and welcome to the show. Thanks for having me. I am so excited to talk to you. I this is just. Sometimes I just get so lucky because your publisher reached out to me with your book. Publisher reached out to me with your book and I was instantly, instantly grabbed and drawn in because it's unique. It's something that I had never even heard of, no one has ever approached me with this, and I thought, oh my gosh, what an interesting study. Because let's first start off with the society of ours looks to women that do not have children, either by choice or by chance that they don't have children, as there's something wrong with them. There's something wrong with them, and there is absolutely positively nothing wrong with women that are childless for whatever reason, and you have chosen for 20 years to work to prove that. So tell us, how did you start in this work of dispelling the myth of I'm broken because I have, because I have no children?
Laura :Well, when I was, I've been married 10 years this was in the late 90s and happily married and all my friends who were married, they were starting to have kids. And I looked around and went well, where are the longtime married couples, happily married couples that don't have kids? And in our case it was by choice and I was looking for books, anything, and I didn't find anything. So I decided to find out myself, and back then it was pre-Google, et cetera, where things were just getting going. So I advertised, you know, in newspapers, magazines, for couples who had been married at least 10 years. There were certain criteria and my answering machine started to blow up.
Laura :I mean, that was the days before voicemail and interviews with 40. And then, with editors, my publisher got it down to 15 that best represented all of the interviews and it turned out to be a book called Families of Two and it was really well received. So I just launched from there and went. You know, this is something that needs to be talked about. The people I interviewed were so thrilled that they said finally somebody wants to talk to us and that's men and women. So that sparked it and every question I've had since is you'll see, in my list of books. It's trying to find the answers to the questions that led to the next thing. So that's what started it all.
Audra :All was my own curiosity human race which is, you know, for obvious reasons, historically. That's what you're trying to do is make sure that there are enough humans so they would survive for the next age. Well, we don't have that problem anymore.
Laura :No, we have more than enough people on the planet right now.
Audra :Yeah, right, we have plenty of people to go around for a very long, long time. Even with birth rates decreasing, we still have plenty of people to go around. That's why it's so ingrained in us. We are still looking at those that, like I said, by chance or by choice, that why don't you have kids? And then I've also seen people that are like they look at each with them with pity.
Laura :Right.
Audra :Right which is not the case.
Laura :Somehow, by not having kids, your life is not going to be able to be truly fulfilled and you're not going to know true love, et cetera. All these beliefs have a lot of. They're very old, they have a lot of dust on them and many of them were never even true to begin with. So you know that whole system of beliefs I call pronatalism and it's been around with us for many generations and that's the topic of one of my books called the Baby Matrix and it's like the movie. Once you see through that matrix, you can't unsee it. So, and whether you have not have kids by choice, the judgments come with that. You don't have children, for whatever reason, Say you have trouble having them, Judgments come with that. No matter how we get there, women are judged. That we have in common, and men too, to some degree as well. It's talked less about, but they don't get off the hook either when they don't, you know, become fathers or, you know, have their legacy, continue, etc.
Audra :Yeah, and it's this continuation, like you said, of a very old, dusty mindset. Yes, so you have taken it one step further with your study and you thought, in order to break this mindset, I need to demonstrate for a younger generation, make it easy for them to digest, to digest and for them to see that it is not only is it okay to make a different choice, but a different choice has been made for a very long time, and these women are not only are they okay, they are thriving and their lives in many ways have impacted what you do today, right now. This is what I love about this book. It goes back a long way, yeah, a long, long way. Like I said, I was so excited when your publisher sent me a copy of this book.
Audra :I literally squealed when she sent this to me Because I had never seen anything like it. It's the. The illustrations are stunning because, like I said, it's done geared towards younger readers, so it's easier for them to digest, it's easier for them to understand, it's presented in a way so they don't feel intimidated and it's also historically correct. But I was entertained, great.
Laura :So well, that was my intention. It's really for anybody. But yes, I wanted to, unlike my other books that are you know one could say more serious and research oriented, but yet written for the lay public. This was like I want young women in high school college. I want them to see that there have been women who've had lives without kids, without having ever been mothers, for generations, and it really doesn't matter how they got there generations and it really doesn't matter how they got there.
Laura :It was more I wanted to show. They are out there living their lives, and they do it in a myriad of ways, and I try to focus on many different countries, so it's not like, well, it's just the women in the United States or North America, it's like everywhere. So to expand their thinking and perceptions of what they may envision for themselves as they get older not saying that they not have children, but expand their thinking of, like, what is really going to be best for me. I want people to make that decision and in order to do that, we need to get all kinds of information, not just the assumptions that it's going to happen. It's just a matter of when.
Audra :And when you and I first met, I had shared with you that when my husband and I first got married, I first of all didn't even think about it. I was not one of those people that even dreamt about getting married. I was not one of those girls that bought a bridal magazine at 16 and dreamt about my wedding and I never did. It was kind of autopilot. Honestly, no one was more surprised at me getting married than me, honestly, never even thought about it. And having kids never even thought about it. That just sort of happened. Never even thought about it. That just sort of happened.
Audra :But had other choices been presented to me, I might have made other choices. I am certainly not saying that I regret the choices I have. I have two amazing children. I have incredible children. I do not regret them at all, but I didn't know I had other choices. I had no idea, no clue. You're just saying that there are lots of different ways to live your life and you wanted to present different options so that young women, young girls, teenagers know that they have just as much of an opportunity of a full, fulfilled life for whatever choice they decide to make. That's right and whatever way they want to live it.
Laura :That's right. Right, I didn't get that. When I was their age, you know, I just looked around and saw everybody doing the same thing and my husband and I decided to do something different, and so it definitely was a journey to find people like us. And also, you know the people that were dear friends of mine that were having kids. We always stayed close, but for a while, you know, their lifestyles and priorities shifted, and tending to friendships was, you know, through transitions like that, it was a unique experience that I think you know. Through transitions like that, it was a unique experience that I think you know. Young people and adults all the way up they experience it still today. Even the older adults they experience it when they're grandparents and then they have friends who aren't grandparents. So you know it. Just, there's some interesting relational things that happen all around you know, whether you have children or not. That do is all.
Audra :Well, what we're going to do now is we're going to share some of the stories of these women from her book, and what she has done is she has separated them into categories, and I have picked six, and Laura may pick a few more, depending on what kind of time we've got. But we originally thought that I would pick four, but I couldn't, I just couldn't settle on four, and I was just, finally was like, well, this is my show, I can do what I want. So I picked six, so six it is, so six it is. And if we have time, maybe I'll ask Laura what her favorite is. If she can pick one, it's probably, like you know, picking her favorite color, and I guess it depends on the day. But we're going to start with the goddesses, oh, okay, and I'm going to pick my favorite goddess because I think that she's just complex and interesting which is Artemis. Oh, ah, yes.
Laura :Artemis yes.
Audra :And in case you guys don't all remember your Greek mythology, she's the daughter of Zeus and she's very complex and she's very strong and she's just complicated.
Laura :Well, I liked her because she's known to be not only the goddess of animals, wilderness, even childbirth, but also the protectress of girls up to the age of marriage. So I like that because it's not just a goddess who's out there, you know, killing animals and fighting, and a warrior woman you know she is those things but she also is a protector of children. So it's not like she hates them or doesn't want anything to do with them. She's very you know, in the mythology, she's very devoted to them. So I like that no-transcript.
Audra :But she also happens to be my favorite Greek goddess, because she's just, she's complicated.
Laura :I recall too that the gift she asked for from her powerful father was to be an eternal virgin. So here we know why she didn't have any kids. But she asked for that so that she asked not to become a mother, to have the gift to not be, but yet she then, with being a protectress of girls, she became sort of the mother of many, many, many girls. So there's, you know, Oprah's an example of that in our day as well. You know she has lots for little young women and girls all over the world.
Audra :Yes, that's actually. That's a great. That's a great comparison. Actually I hadn't even thought of that. That's a great comparison. The next there's a little bit of a theme here because this is Women of the Arena. So there's a little bit of a theme here because this is Women of the Arena. So, there's a little bit of a theme here, it's okay. We're going to Warrior Women, all right, and this is Opa Mae Johnson.
Laura :Oh, let me bring that up here to my memory. Okay, oh yeah, marine, first female Marine, what a story. Huh, yes, hoo-ah, you know, fill administrative jobs while the guys were overseas and the Marine Corps invited the women to enlist and on the first recruiting day, as I recall, opa was the first woman in a long. She was in line, but she was first in a long line there waiting to enlist and so she ended up, you know, being selected and they had to get really strong mental and physical skills and really only a few women actually made that cut and she was one of them. I think by then she was in her late 30s. So they trained and skilled like all the other Marines and you know, as history has it, they were tough and she was one of them.
Audra :Very first female Marine. Yeah, yes, that is not for the faint of heart, especially not then. What year was that?
Laura :Oh, gosh, probably you know, the war ended around 1919. So it was several years before that. So, yeah, and at that time again, like I say, she was in her 30s and she, she was still, like you know, physically meeting this, doing the same things that the guy Marines were doing, which you know at that time was, was pretty impressive, you know, women didn't work out like they do today, or many anyway. So, yeah, she had some gumption, for sure to just say I'm going to not only going to enlist, I'm going to be first in line. And you know, literally, she knows she would be the first, first. So, yeah, she was quite the yeah, world War I, she had something, something, yes, she did Definitely paved the way for women in the military, for sure she did, and she's probably paved the way for the.
Audra :We have some female colonels that are in the Marines right now, that are fighter pilots and are leading entire regiments of military men and women all over the world, so it's because of her that that's even possible.
Laura :Yeah, more bad ass women out there today. Sure, yes.
Audra :Absolutely. It's because of that woman that it made it possible that all the other branches invited women to join them, and now that there are women that have thriving careers in all the branches of the military, because of that woman Now we're going to move to leaders. Okay, and this one jumped out at me because I have not watched it yet. I'm saving it. I want to watch it. She has a new Netflix documentary and it's Shirley Chisholm.
Laura :Oh, yeah, man, yeah, she, oh, that's you know what? I've seen it. Actually I've seen the doc. Oh, it's very good, yeah, really good. And what is the gal who plays her? Oh man, she's got pipes. Really good, singer Gosh, she's not just coming to me right now, Anyway, it's very well acted. So she, Shirley God, she's another one where you know she started her career in something completely different. I mean, she started her career in education and while she was in that field she got involved in local politics, and little did she know that that would be her total future. I mean, before around age I think it was around 40, she was elected to the New York State Assembly and then she made her way up, up, up to the US House of Representatives and she was the first Black woman ever elected to Congress, which was amazing. And then once she, once she won that, she'd go on to being reelected, for I believe it was six terms. So obviously she was doing something right.
Audra :Yeah, lady, she's the one that coined the phrase.
Laura :If they don't have room for the table, bring a folding chair Chair yes, and she also had the chutzpah where, I think by her late 40s, she said you know what? I think I'm going to run for president and this was in the 60s, yeah, yeah.
Laura :So she ran in the US presidential primaries and during her campaign was it two or three times? People tried to assassinate her. She survived assassination attempts and now also, I think, as a black woman, she didn't exactly expect to be nominated for the Democratic candidate for president, but she did it so that it would spark change and get people thinking like, well, why the heck not Get used to seeing black women in really really high up leadership positions? So you know, she really did that. But she continued to fight for, you know, an education, for health care, equal rights and all of her congressional positions. So later she was, and she just really started breaking a new barrier to say, yeah, a woman, a woman, even a Black woman, can run for president, just stellar. And she's, of course, got many, many medals and awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, as I believe. So, yeah, she was really honored for all her great work in her life.
Audra :Just an amazing woman. Amazing woman yeah.
Laura :The documentary shouldn't be. It's well overdue, for sure.
Audra :Absolutely. I'm looking forward to seeing it. We're now moving to social changers and everybody should perk up here. Catherine McCormick.
Laura :Now, what made you pick her?
Audra :Come on. Well, I think it's timely Because, if I'm not mistaken, she is the architect of allowing women to take birth control pills. Heaven forbid, you have birth control pills.
Laura :Well, it even started before that, before the pill. I mean, she heavily financed the development of the pill. I mean, she heavily financed the development of the pill. But before that she was instrumental in getting the diaphragm to the United States, where at one time they were not allowed here. There was a black market for them and not enough of them. So she came up with a crazy plan but it ended up working. For a while she posed as a scientist. She went to diaphragm manufacturers in Europe, got lots of orders and then hired seamstresses to sew the diaphragms into the garments and that's how they got shipped into the United States. I mean, what a crazy idea. And it actually worked for a while. So the customs, you know. People just saw the clothes and didn't suspect a thing. And so I guess all these women were walking in with all these rubber diaphragms inside their clothes. Just, diaphragms were black market.
Laura :Yes, couldn't have him in the States? Yeah, but her husband died. Her husband was, you know, had some. He was a wealthy businessman and he got ill. I believe he had dementia kind of early in life too. So she cared for him for many years while all this other stuff was going on. But when he passed away. She got a sizable estate and that's when she said you know what, moving on from the diaphragm, we've got to get the pill here, and in big numbers. And she helped finance the development and manufacturing of it. In the beginning she used a lot of her money, you know. I think at the time it was probably only a couple million bucks, but that's about 20 million dollars today. So she really was brave and how she fought to get birth control options into the United States. But she also, you know, really was a financial force behind the pill, so I felt like she needed to be recognized. That's pretty badass.
Audra :She put her money and her resources, yeah, badass. She put her money and her resources, yeah, so that people like you and I can can chuckle out loud and say that diaphragms were black market and things like the pill are now you don't even think about it, you just it's. You it's second thought, and it's not even a second thought. Oh, you need the pill. Ok, right, it's just commonplace now, because this woman took huge risks, huge risks that she would not even realize in her lifetime would become so easy in her lifetime would become so easy.
Laura :Yeah, yeah, she was looking down from the heavens and hopefully smiling Well, not completely, but the situation but yeah, she was creative and also really put her money where her mouth was, you know, yeah, so thank you, catherine, good one, she has affected generations.
Audra :So thank you, Catherine. The last two that I've picked and we might have time for you to pick your favorites, but the last two that I picked are completely selfish, completely selfish, fiery informers. And this one I picked because of my heritage I am Hispanic, and so this one I just love her and I love her story, and it is Jovita Adar.
Laura :Fighter for Mexican-American civil rights. Yes, so, gosh, where to start with her? Well, I think her father was known as a community leader and a civil rights activist and he ran a family newspaper. That was crucial, you know, at the time, not only for blacks, but Mexican-Americans as well, and so, as a young woman, she started out as a reporter, you know right from the get-go, writing about segregation and hot, you know topics at the time. And so in her mid-20s she organized I think it was the first, was it First Mexican Congress which started the modern Mexican-American civil rights movement. I see why maybe you're interested in her. What else did you learn that you like about her?
Audra :Well, she's a feisty Hispanic, which I resemble that comment. And she started something because she couldn't find it. And she started something because she couldn't find it, so she made it herself. I also resemble that comment Yep, yep, for sure you do. So that is why I picked her. Because she is just for selfish reasons, because I like her, I think I'd like to if I could. She'd be one of those people I'd like to have dinner with.
Laura :Oh, yeah, for sure, I believe too. She was working at a newspaper called the El Progreso and she wrote an article protesting the current president, his decision to send the US troops to the border, the US troops to the border. And when the army and the border security officials came to the newspaper's doors, jovita stood her ground, did not let them in and did not try her best not to let them shut down the paper. So not only was she writing and fighting for civil rights, she was standing her ground to, you know, not have them come in and destroy what they were up to. So she was a very brave person, an activist journalist who really devoted to obviously equal rights, to Mexican-Americans, for sure, and to the education of Mexican-Americans as well. What years are these? Was she active? Well, she was born in 1885 and died in 1946. And so, gosh, when she was in her 20s, I think she started out as a reporter.
Laura :So it was just from her 20s all the way to 46. When she died was she involved in this for pretty much her whole adult life.
Audra :But you could have written that yesterday. Yeah, she was really brave, brave woman. Yep, tessa agrees.
Laura :That's funny. She chimed in right at the right time.
Audra :She sure did, tessa agrees right at the right time she sure did disagrees. And this last one is very, very selfish, very personal, very near and dear to my heart. Um, I will give you a couple of clues. Um, I am a gold award recipient. I received a presidential recognition because of that gold award. I received a scholarship because of that gold award. And this last one is a server of the public and it is Juliet Gordon Lowe who was the creator of the Girl Scouts.
Laura :Yes, yes, yes, she's a good one. God, what was it? The Boy Scouts? Did you just hear in the news? It's no longer the Boy Scouts, it's just called the Scouts. Yes, it's just called the scouts. Yes, sometimes they know what. Will the girl scouts now become scouts too? Or how are they going to do?
Audra :that it won't happen. I don't. I shouldn't say that it won't happen. I don't believe that it will happen because it's against the charter of what the girl scouts stand for, of what juliet low uh believed in, and the girl scouts stand for of what Juliette Lowe believed in. And the Girl Scouts have always stood on the foundation of what she has created, which has always been about the promotion and leadership of girls and young women. They've always stayed true to that, from the day that they have started it to now, for over 100 years. So I can't imagine that they would change it today. Because it's trendy, it's for the development of girls into women, so why would they change it? I just don't imagine that they would. I just described to you why it's so personal to me, because I worked really hard to get a gold award and I got all this recognition for it idea of the Girl Scouts when she was like in her 40s, her husband had died and you know, she just when I think.
Laura :I think she lost most of her wealth too when he did. I don't I have to check on how exactly that occurred, but she just said you know what? I'm going to go travel. I'm going to France and Europe.
Laura :And she went to India and in her 50s she was in England and she met a British general and war hero and who? He was the founder of the Boy Scouts, and she loved the idea and he told her about there was a group there in England called the Girl Guides, the Girl Guides and she thought, well, geez, you know, I'm going to create those groups, more of those groups here. And then she ended up coming back to the United States and renamed it the Girl Scouts as an educational and service organization. So she was, you're right, really the impetus on how the Girl Scouts got to the United States and she really worked for the Scouts until she died, I think in her 60s, early 60s, of cancer. So yeah, she was supportive of them all the way to her death, which I thought was a little too early. But you know, that's how it goes.
Audra :Well, it's one of my favorite organizations on the planet. She has changed millions of girls' lives. One of my favorite troops is in New York City. It's Troop 6000. It is for homeless girls. One of my friends, that's great. Yes, it's one of my friends who also happens to be a Women in the Arena. Alumni, shout out to you, michelle. Her name is Michelle DeFeo. She is the CEO of Laurent Pierre Champagne here in the Arena. Alumni, shout out to you, michelle. Her name is Michelle DeFeo. She is the CEO of Laurent Pierre Champagne here in the US. She is a scout leader for them, and she is also a motherless woman by choice, and she has chosen to be a scout leader for Troop 6000, for homeless girls, and so that is why she was, why I wanted to pick her last, because Juliette Lewis excuse me, juliette Gordon-Lowe changed millions of girls' lives and women's lives and is still affecting lives now, decades after her death.
Laura :One of the pieces of trivia I love about her is she was buried in her Girl Scout uniform. I just love that.
Audra :Admittedly, I was never great at wearing that uniform. I ditched that uniform long ago and just wore the sash because I was like eh, and then after that, I think, I ditched the sash and I just saved the patches and, yeah, I was like I'm fine, I'm good, I'm good.
Laura :I don't want to come up like that. I have my sash and I had my badges and I remember the first badge I got that went to the back of my sash and I thought, oh, this is so cool, let's keep going. No, the other girls had more than me, but I liked, you know, I liked the day where I went onto the back.
Audra :Now, Some girls had them on all over their jackets, the ones that were like super cool, super cool. So we have time for you to pick.
Laura :Gosh, you know, I think, when we spoke before and you said who's your favorite? And I said, well, gosh, I was. I think. When we spoke before and you said, oh, who's your favorite? And I said, well, gosh, I was over 300 and counting before I started researching this.
Laura :Going, laura, you have to stop, so to get it down to, you know, 100. So I wish one would do I pick that. I'm just in the mood for today. I mean, I love them all, of course, and I, like I said I tried to have there be high variety, uh, world. You know global women, uh, not just from certain countries. You know entertainment, um, oh, photographers. Maybe I'll pick somebody from the photography, uh chapter. I just uh learning about some.
Laura :This chapter is called Legendary Lens Women and some of these. In that chapter there's examples of women who were war photographers and some of the first to do photography for Life magazine. Catherine Leroy she's one I guess can showcase that. I love learning about her. She was I got it 21. She learned about the Vietnam War and she was so moved by images she saw in magazines she decided to go there herself and she bought a one-way ticket to Laos, left with a camera and a couple hundred bucks. Wow, it was very, very rare at the time. Okay, so she wasn't a professional photographer, but she went to the Associated Press when she got there to see if she could, you know, take photos for them. And they asked her you know, okay, what's your experience? And she said well, you know, she just lied and she said she had experience. They gave her the chance and she totally delivered.
Laura :The thing that really was badass about her before this was she's one of the few women who had her parachutes license and I think that's what gave her a little more gumption to go. You know, I'm going over there and I'm going to get some pictures of what's really going on. Because she knew she could get onto some planes, right, so, and she could parachute out of them just like the guys did there. So she was one of the only journalists who did that, mind you, you know, and a woman, so she was able to get like all kinds of shots that you know you couldn't, you just can't get in combat, because she was able to parachute, parachute down. So she covered, you know, conflicts later in Iran Libya just became internationally famous, but she had some, you know, gumption to to go really get into some dangerous situations and take photos. So, yeah, that's one that I really love learning about.
Audra :That's amazing, do you have one? We have one, we have time for one more. Oh, come on, I know.
Laura :What can we agree on? Maybe, let's see how about maybe a creative type person who would be fun to talk about? Oh, they're all fun to talk about. That's see how about maybe a creative type person who would be fun to talk about? Oh, they're all fun to talk about.
Laura :That's true. Well, I have a chapter called Movement in Melody where I highlight, you know, movement as in dancers and the like, and then melody singers and songwriters and things like that, that. And there's a gal, a woman, named Lizzie Douglas. So she was a really, really popular country blues artist in a time when, you know, women just didn't do that. But she was blessed with a really good voice and at 10, she was already playing the banjo and playing at parties that you know in her neighborhood. And but when she was about 13, she thought I want to get out on the road and I want to do this.
Laura :She ran away from home to Memphis to try to play music. Okay, mind you, this is the early 1900s, this is really brave to do. So she started playing in street bands, cafes, clubs, and she made a name for herself. She even traveled with the circus, the Ringling Brothers Circus, when it was just getting going and somebody found her. A talent scout from Columbia Records found her and the rest is history.
Laura :She just worked with some of the best premier blues guitarists and songwriters of the 30s and 40s blues guitarists and songwriters of the 30s and 40s and she faced a lot of racism in addition to being in sexism, you know, and she had to really just take a lot of you know what, but she was just staying right up there with the top of the blues men in the field and she's also remembered because she could whistle like the best of them. So she really could, you know, integrate that into her songs as well. So she was a blues singer and she helped to influence, you know, rhythm and blues and rock and roll to come. So she was one of those forward women early on in country and blues. So she's definitely worth learning about. Yeah, she had some charisma in that song.
Audra :Could we take the leap and say that she might have influenced another childless woman by the name of Dolly Parton?
Laura :Very possible, very possible, yes, that she really consciously decided she wanted her career and she knew that if she had a child that it would just not be in the best interest of the child. So I love that she's out there and very vocal about it. We need more candid stories like that. Clearly, the women give it. Thought Bonnie Raitt's the same way. She's like why would I have a kid and leave it and have it be raised with nannies and handlers? What good is that? So women really think about it and they choose. They choose what their priority is, and if it's their creative life, so be it.
Audra :Yeah, well, clearly, from these stories that we've shared and this is just a fraction of the stories that are in this book, which you've only narrowed it down to 100. There are, there are thousands more out there. This book just highlights 100 of them and it's done so beautifully. Like I said, it's done in a way that it can be digested of all ages and you know, young, young women, young adults, teenagers, and for all of us, and it's beautifully illustrated, wonderful stories, and it's enough to get you interested in them and encourage you to go and do your own investigation of these women and learn more about them. That's what I love about this book. I'm so excited.
Laura :One of the most challenging was to take all the information I learned with each woman and get it down to around 300 words or one page. So on one page is the narrative. The other page, the opposite page, is the illustration by just a very talented Talia Tueva that I found Just got so lucky. It was my first time working with an illustrator. It was really super fun, but I wanted it so you could just open it up. You see the picture, you do the narrative. Also, it's a book. You can just open it and start anywhere, start wherever you're inspired that particular day. It's easy to swipe on tablets and phones. It's fun to swipe on tablets and phones. It's, you know, it's fun and easy and I think thanks. I agree, I was really pleased with just how it worked out visually.
Audra :Yeah, it's beautiful. It's so beautiful and, before I let you go, because it's been such a joy having you here and allowing me to be the ambassador of these ladies stories, because they're not here to tell their stories themselves. So thank you for allowing me to do that. Uh, if the those of you that have been listening for a while, this is where I get the opportunity to sit back from the the mic and give you an opportunity to have a direct, intimate moment with the audience, without me interrupting, so you can have a moment directly with them, to leave them with a lasting thought, a moment that they can take with them throughout their day, just something that you can say to encourage them while they're contemplating this, what they've been learning today, and just some thoughts and something they can think about. So, laura, the mic is yours. Oh, my goodness.
Laura :It's really helping the importance of self-reflection and on what it is we really want and why we want it. To really ask more deep questions on why is it I think I might want them, why am I not so sure? Why am I moving away from it. It's to really take more time to just not answer yes or no or yes and do what everybody else does, but to really look at the experiences that you're really looking for. If you had children and asking yourself, gee, is that the only way I can have that experience? So it's again.
Laura :It's like looking more deeply at some of these really big decisions in our lives and, you know, using it as an opportunity to know oneself even more deeply. So that's one thing, and another is like the women in this book sometimes you just got to lead your life and move towards what you're most interested in, what you're drawn to, and in the end, if you know what, if that didn't include kids, cool, fine, you know. The good news is you've lived your life to its fullest and just you know, go toward what is making you passionate and following your curiosities, and I firmly believe that you'll end up in the place that's, you know, you'll be the most happy.
Audra :So and you might just do something that changes generations. You never know, never know which might be super cool. You might be known for a really long time. That's right, laura, thank you so much for being here, just allowing me to help you tell these stories, because these stories need to be told, and since they're not here to tell them themselves, I'm so grateful that you allowed me to tell them. And since they're not here to tell them themselves, I'm so grateful that you allowed me to tell them. So, thank you, I really appreciate it. Yeah Well, I thank you, minnie, and I want to thank all of you once again for being here, and we'll see you again next time.
