God bless Gloria Steinem. In my family Gloria was a force. My daughter was
born in 1971, and I believe I received the first issue of Ms. when it became available the next year. In 1974 I became a single parent, and I don't know what I would have done without Ms.[magazine] Living in [a small conservative town] and teaching at [a Catholic high school] I was terrified for the future of my daughter. Ms helped mightily, and gave me hope
and I have loved her books. Gloria is my hero.
After my newsletter celebrating International Women's Day, I heard from
Hannah. She wrote in answer to my question about how you, despite your busy life and many commitments, are helping forge a better world for women.
I am celebrating breast cancer survivors and fellow previvors who were lucky enough to do a prophylactic double mastectomy to strike cancer before it had a chance. I am a BRCA 2 carrier that just put it to bed on February 5th. I'm recovering well.
I am a previvor...sharing my journey to help women who are getting ready to go through this themselves. By helping other women see the positives through a good outlook of such a move, I am helping others to find peace and joy in it. I've also been able to inspire other women to get tested, and that means a lot, because it is life saving. I saved my life, and I want others to be able to save theirs
and with as less emotional struggle as possible.
I have learned to love myself and my body better than I ever have, and now take pride in my scars that speak to the journey, and to see myself as whole and just as feminine and woman without breasts.
My heartfelt thanks for sharing!
What changes did 2020 bring to your door? I'd love to hear how you've adapted to changes large and small. Do you think your perspective has changed in any way?
I had to get used to my husband working at home, but that adjustment proved a small wrinkle easily smoothed out. Other changes are more difficult. I'm giving a lot of thought to what it means to write in a culture suffering information overload. I'll be sharing my thoughts and look forward to hearing how you are navigating change.
