Being that today is Mother’s Day, the natural shoutout would be to my own mother. I will never be able to repay her for the work and the sacrifices she made to give us a happy and safe childhood.
Here’s to the mothers, grandmothers, stepmothers, and other maternal figures who loved us and guided us to a successful and fruitful adulthood.
At the beginning of the 20th century, some women had the opportunity to go to college and pursue a career before settling down and starting a family. They had no idea of the precedent that they were setting.
Stephanie Dray‘s new book, Becoming Madam Secretary, is the life story of Frances Perkins. It was published in March. Perkins was the first American female to serve in a Presidential cabinet and the architect of The New Deal. After getting her degree (which was unusual for the era), Perkins started working to assist poor families in the tenements in New York City.
Her entire world changes with the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. After the loss of innocent life, she knows her purpose. Joining up with a group of the city’s eclectic citizens, she falls in love with and marries Paul Wilson. Perkins also meets future President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Their first impression of one another is not exactly a harbinger of their future professional relationship.
As time rolls on and she climbs the political ranks, the push-pull of work vs. family comes into play. Making it worse is the discrimination she faces at the office and her husband’s downturn into mental illness.
Becoming Madam Secretary is one of my favorite books that I have read so far this year. I knew of Perkins before I read Dray’s novel. I just didn’t know that much about her.
In our time, she would be just another woman trying to pull off the work/life balance. In her time, she broke boundaries that many of us take for granted today.
Do I recommend it? Absolutely.
Becoming Madam Secretary is available wherever books are sold.
Conformity is easy. The harder task is to be yourself, even when that means being potentially ostracized and hated.
“This above all: to thine own self be true”-William Shakespeare, Hamlet. Act 1, Scene III
For every author from a marginalized community whose work has remained in print over the decades, others have been forgotten.
Charlotte Perkins Gillman is one of these writers. In 2014, editor Barbara H. Solomon released an anthology of Perkins Gillman’s work, entitled Herland and Selected Stories. Starting with Herland, Solomon also includes other short stories that for the most part, have not been included in the canon of classic works by a female author.
I am not shocked that modern readers need to be introduced to the author. Like other women writers before her, she uses fiction to point out discrimination and sexism that was and still is prevalent.
Do I recommend it? Yes.
Herland and Selected Stories is available wherever books are sold.
The protection of wildlife is a job that is not suited for everyone. It takes a certain type of person who earns their living by protecting our non-human friends.
Lone Star Law was part of Animal Planet‘s schedule from 2016-2021. This reality show followed various game wardens from Texas whose job was to safeguard animals from man’s cruelty.
I’ve tried to watch Lone Star Law. Unfortunately, it did not keep my interest.
Do I recommend it? No.
It’s not so much a public figure, but the idea that democracy is expendable. While it takes work and must be protected, it is the only form of government that ensures that the rights of residents and citizens are not (hopefully) subject to the whims of political leadership.
I have a complicated relationship with Emma Woodhouse. As much as I laugh and can see where she goes wrong, I can’t relate to her as I do with other Austen heroines. As good-hearted as she is, she can also be a snob.
Emma of 83rd Street, by Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding, was published last year. It is the first book in the For the Love of Austen series. Like her regency counterpart, this modern Emma has grown up with a comfortable life. She lives with her widowed father in Manhattan’s Upper East Side and is in her final year of grad school.
After matching her sister with Ben Knightley, Emma is bored. The house feels empty now that Margo is married and has moved downtown. A new challenge comes in the form of Nadine Pittman. Nadine and Emma are classmates. A transplant from Ohio, she is naive and wide-eyed.
Emma’s next-door neighbor and brother-in-law by marriage, George Knightley seems to take pleasure in pointing out her faults. He knows that she is smart and can do anything once she puts her mind to it. But he is concerned that she is more concerned with frivolous pursuits. Knightley also notices that Emma is now a woman with whom he is developing an un-ignorable attraction.
I loved this book. It is one of the best modern Austen adaptations that I have read in a long time. It was charming, funny, and adorable. It is the perfect mix of the original text and the contemporary world that we inhabit. It also helped that the book was set in NYC. I was easily able to identify some of the locations from within the narrative.
Do I recommend it? Absolutely.
Emma of 83rd Street is available wherever books are sold.
Movie sequels or sequels of any kind may depend on focusing on a character that was previously seen only from a limited perspective. That, however, is not always enough to expand the tale and keep the audience engaged.
Cars 2 (2011) is the follow-up to Cars (2006). Lighting McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) is traveling abroad for the World Grand Prix race. Mater (voiced by Larry the Cable Guy) is part of the crew that joins McQueen on the trip. Mater is not the brightest bulb in the box. While constantly embarrassing his friend, he gets entangled in an international spy ring via Finn McMissile (voiced by Michael Caine) and Holley Shiftwell (voiced by Emily Mortimer).
I liked this film. Mater is not Einstein, but those whom he loves, he loves completely. He also ultimately saves the day, becoming an unlikely hero.
Though overall it is a good movie, my complaint remains the same. I understand why Sally (voiced by Bonnie Hunt) is largely off-screen. But I wish that Mortimer was not the only female actor who had a major role in the story.
Do I recommend it? Yes.
Cars 2 is available for streaming on DisneyPlus.
For most of American history, FLOTUS has been viewed as the ultimate hostess and helpmate. The change from national homemaker to independant woman who happens to be married to POTUS has slowly changed over the last few decades.
American Woman: The Transformation of the Modern First Lady, from Hillary Clinton to Jill Biden, by Katie Rogers, was published in February. In the book, the former White House correspondent tells the story of how the role of the First Lady has changed from the 1990s until today. Rogers spends a good chunk of her text on the current first spouse, Dr. Jill Biden.
Her trajectory from a broken-hearted divorcee in 1975 to the first FLOTUS to have a job outside of the White House represents a change for women over the last half-century. Within her marriage, Dr. Biden is a fierce advocate for her husband, his legacy, and their family.
I enjoyed this book. Rogers speaks about her subjects humanely, allowing them to be more than a name in a headline. Instead of just being wives and mothers, they are given the spotlight and are more than just the women who happen to be married to the President.
Do I recommend it? Yes.
American Woman: The Transformation of the Modern First Lady, from Hillary Clinton to Jill Biden is available wherever books are sold.
What is your career plan?
Not just for the present, but for the future. When I retire (whenever that is), I will need to be able to continue to support myself.
Writergurlny 
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