March is Women’s History Month, a time set aside to commemorate women who are – or should be – a part of history to be remembered. Women worldwide have long been relegated to the sidelines, as the invisible people who take care of children and husbands so the men can be free to have careers and do great things. In many countries this is still the case. International Women’s Day during this month remembers all women, and especially their hard won rights to vote, to be independent and have careers, to not be discriminated against or abused. Women are still speaking out about injustices and can’t easily be ignored anymore.
We read and learn about women who have stood strong and accomplished much, and their stories are important to tell. But I also think every woman’s story is important to tell. Older women especially have come through tough times in history, working hard at home to feed and care for their families amid old ways, some working in fields or doing odd jobs to earn extra money. My mother-in-law remembers outhouses, no electricity, and picking cotton as a small child. Some women cared for multiple children alone and in poverty, after a husband died or abandoned the family – of course, this happens today, too. Women’s work was hard and never-ending then and women had to be strong.
Many women do the brunt of caring for home and families while working jobs outside the home. Mothers can’t stop when they’re sick or exhausted. Most of society’s caregivers are women as nurses or aides for the homebound or in nursing homes, or they care for elderly parents—often while caring for their own young children. Women also are the volunteers that work to support nonprofit community services, or for the church or schools.
During this month of celebrating women, take time to read and learn about women who have accomplished much despite obstacles—so many memoirs, biographies, and documentaries are out there about famous women. Celebrate the lives of the women in your life, including yourself if you are a woman reading this. Learn the stories of mothers and grandmothers and let your children know them. I encourage life writing to save the stories for now and future generations. These stories save history, culture, and society. After I published my mother’s stories of living through WWII in Japan, a woman in her senior living community approached her and said her granddaughter had recently called her to say she had read the most wonderful book – and it was her grandmother’s memoir.
Women in White Coats: How the First Women Doctors Changed the World of Medicine by Olivia Campbell.
The Girls Who Stepped Out of Line: Untold Stories of the Women Who Changed the Course of WWII by Maj. Gen. Mari K. Eder
Wife, Mother, Spy: An Extraordinary Life Filled With Ordinary Days by Ann Butler
Becoming Katharine Graham (Washington Post fame) documentary
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