Jo Ann A. Mathews's Blog, page 6

Women and Adversity: Ellen Henrietta Swallow Richards First Woman to graduate M.I.T.

Ellen Swallow Richards First woman to graduate from MIT (Astrochemist at en.wikipedia)

   Women and Adversity:
Ellen Henrietta Swallow Richards
First Woman to graduate M.I.T.

The recent bestseller Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus relates a clever use of chemistry in daily life, but readers can credit Ellen Swallow Richards for giving chemistry a household use. She is America’s first female professional chemist and is responsible for having Home Economics classes taught in schools because she believed science could be applied to household tasks. She also pioneered the field of sanitary engineering.

Swallow was an only child born on December 3, 1842 in Dunstable, Massachusetts. Both her parents were teachers. She was primarily taught at home but attended Westford Academy for a short time. She wanted to go to college, but at that time in American history, she had two strikes against her:

Her family was poorShe was a woman

Education

Swallow worked as a teacher, tutor and housecleaner, and saved $300 for college. She was 25 when she was accepted as a junior at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York and graduated in two years. She wanted to continue her studies in chemistry, and the board at Massachusetts Institute of Technology gave her special consideration and decided to admit her, the first woman accepted at MIT.

In 1873 she not only earned her bachelor of science degree in chemistry from MIT but also her  master’s degree from Vassar, writing her thesis on the chemical analysis of iron ore. She continued studying at MIT for two more years. Although she deserved earning her Ph.D., the school would not give its first Ph.D. to a woman.

Work History

1873-1878 — taught chemistry at MIT without earning a salary or title
1876 — helped establish the Women’s Laboratory at MIT for women to conduct research. It closed in 1883 when MIT awarded undergraduate degrees to women.
1879 — MIT assistant professor in chemical analysis, industrial chemistry, mineralogy and applied biology, without being given a salary
1887-1897 — Official water analyst for the Massachusetts State Board of Health
Until 1911 — Taught at MIT until her death

 Some of her a ccomplishments   

Devised a method to determine the amount of nickel in various ores
Became an authority in the chemical analysis of ores
Discovered Samarskite—a rare ore
Isolated the element Vanadium
Wrote 15 books
Founder of Science of Euthenics and Home Economics classes
1879 — first woman member of American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers
1882 — published The Chemistry of Cooking and Cleaning: A Manual for Housekeepers
1890 – Opened the New England Kitchen in Boston, informing people about nutrition and food preparation
1893—A similar kitchen created at the World’s Fair in Chicago
1899 – Organized a conference in Lake Placid, New York that served as the basis for the American Home Economics Association
1907—Wrote Sanitation in Daily Life

 Personal life:

Married 1875  — Professor Robert Richards, head of the department of Mining Engineering at MIT
The couple had no children
Died  — March 30, 1911

  Learn more about Richards :
vcencyclopedia.vassar.edu/distinguished-alumni/ellen-swallow-richards
www.britannica.com/biography/Ellen-Swallow-Richards
www.acs.org/education/whatischemistry/women-scientists/ellen-h-swallow-richards.html

My ebooks available at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com:

Honoring 23 Black Women, Recognizing 23 Notable Mothers, Saluting 23 Faithful Suffragists  

 

 

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Women and Adversity: Zuzana Čaputová First Woman President of Slovakia

Zuzana_Caputova, President of Slovakia (at_the_Enthronement_of_Naruhito_1-1-e1692628467265.jpg)

 Women and Adversity:
Zuzana Čaputová
First Woman President of Slovakia

 Zuzana Čaputová (Zoo Zan⸍nah Cop⸍ oo toe vah) has been called the Erin Brockovich of Slovakia because of her determination to rid Pezinok, her hometown, of a toxic landfill. It took 14 years of protests, lawsuits and petitions to the European Union, but she won against a wealthy land developer. She earned the Goldman Environmental prize in 2016 for her efforts.

Slovakia, a landlocked country in central Europe, was part of Czechoslovakia from 1969-1990 and was known as Slovak Socialist Republic. The Republic became independent in 1993 and is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the southwest, the Czech Republic to the northwest. Its capital and largest city is Bratislava, the only capital in the world that borders two countries, Austria and Hungary. The nearly 19 square mile country has 5.4 million people.

Čaputová is a progressive in a conservative country. She was rated the most trusted politician in Slovakia in 2020 and 2021 and has been mentioned as a replacement for NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg when he retires. The presidential post is chiefly ceremonial, but she is in charge of the armed forces and has the power to appoint top judges. In August she granted permission to nine citizens to serve in the Ukrainian armed forces in that country’s war with Russia. However, she announced in June for personal reasons she would not run for reelection in 2024. She has had several death threats, and she is suing former Prime Minister Robert Fico for the derogatory comments he has made about her.

Čaputová bio:
Born — June 21, 1973 in Bratislava, Slovakia
1991-96 — Comenius University Faculty of Law, Bratislava
1998-99 — Training in General Management – Management of Change
1999   —     ARK – Mediation, accredited by Ministry of Education of Slovakia

Work History:
1999 ­—  assistant in the local government legal department
No dates available:
Deputy to town mayor
Open Society Foundations non-profit —  handled public administration and issues of abused and exploited children
EQ Klub —  project manager, worked on local community development
2001-2017 — Lawyer for Via Iuris, a civic organization; campaign planning for Greenpeace
Had her own law firm

 Political Career:
2017 — Co-founder of Progressive Slovakia party
2018 — Elected vice-chair at the party’s first congress; Deputy chair
2019-present — President of Slovakia

 Goals:
Change the police force to be independent of political influence
Phase out coal mining and power generation to bring Slovakia to the Powering Past Coal Alliance
Supports registered same-sex partnerships

 Personal life:
Divorced from Ivan Čaputa
Two daughters
Current partner is Juraj Rizman

,Learn more about Čaputová:
https://www.barrons.com/news/slovakia-s-president-caputova-says-will-not-run-for-re-election-13849b18
https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/slovak-president-caputova-to-sue-former-pm-fico
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-slovakia-election-president/liberal-lawyer-caputova-wins-election-to-become-slovakias-first-female-president-idUSKCN1RB003

  My ebooks available at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com:

Honoring 23 Black Women, Recognizing 23 Notable Mothers, Saluting 23 Faithful Suffragists  

 

The post Women and Adversity: Zuzana Čaputová First Woman President of Slovakia appeared first on Jo Ann Mathews.

Women and Adversity: Ana Brnabic Prime Minister of Serbia

Women and Adversity:
Ana Brnabić
Prime Minister of Serbia

Ana Brnabić, Prime Minister of Serbia (2023-e1691509876865.jpg)

We get into complicated territory when we talk of the Balkan Penisula, a region in southeastern Europe. Eleven countries comprise the Balkans and Serbia is one of them. Serbia didn’t become totally separate from the other Balkan states until 2008 when Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia. The 6.8 million people in Serbia populate 30 square miles. Its capital is Belgrade.

The Serbian Parliament accepted President Aleksandar Vucic’s choice of Ana Brnabić (pronounced Burr⸍ nah beech) as P.M., and it voted her into office in June 2017. She became the first woman and first openly gay prime minister of Serbia.

Vucic runs an autocratic government and Amnesty International cited him for human rights violations. He has strong ties to Russia and China. Critics say he chose Brnabic to show his government is enforcing reforms because he wants Serbia to become part of the European Union. Brnabić accepted because she says she is non-partisan and pro-European and identifies herself as a technocrat, a person who believes in reform based on technology. However, she joined the Serbian Progressive Party in 2019.

She says she doesn’t want to be a spokesperson for the LGBT community. “I don’t want to be branded as a gay minister, just as my colleagues don’t want to be primarily defined as being straight,” she said in her acceptance speech. “All I want is to do my job as best as I can.”

Brnabić bio:
Born — September 28, 1975 in Belgrade
1998 —  Bachelor’s degree in business administration from Northwood University, Midland, Michigan
2001 —  Master’s degree in marketing from University of Hull, England

Work History:
No dates given for:
Deputy manager of the Serbia Competitiveness Project
Expert on the Local Self-government Reform Program in Serbia
Senior coordinator of the Program of Economic Development of Municipalities
2006 — Active in foundation of the National Alliance for Local Economic Development
2013-2015 — Director of Continental Wind Serbia where she implemented an investment in a wind farm

Political Career:
2016-2017 — Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government
2017-present — Prime Minister

Goals:
Modernizing the Serbia government
Education reform
Digitization of government

Personal life:
Her partner gave birth to a boy in 2019.

  Learn more about Ana Brnabić:
www.dw.com/en/ana-brnabic-a-female-leader-who-is-unlikely-to-change-history/a-56850681

www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-40297480
Ana Brnabic: Gay partner of Serbian PM gives birth – BBC News

My ebooks available at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com:

Honoring 23 Black Women, Recognizing 23 Notable Mothers, Saluting 23 Faithful Suffragists  

The post Women and Adversity: Ana Brnabic Prime Minister of Serbia appeared first on Jo Ann Mathews.

Women and Adversity: Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila Prime Minister of Namibia

Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, Prime Minister of Namibia (cropped-e1690302990535.jpg)

 

Women and Adversity:
Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila
Prime Minister of Namibia 

It’s possible most Americans haven’t heard of  Namibia, officially Republic of Namibia. It is a country of nearly 319 square miles in western Africa bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the west, Angola to the north, Botswana to the east, Zambia to the northeast, and South Africa to the southeast and south. It has a varied terrain from deserts, mountains, canyons and savannas. English is the national language, but only three percent of the 2.53 million people speak it. The country’s name comes from Namib desert, the oldest desert in the world. Before its independence in 1990, Namibia was known as German South-West Africa then as South West Africa.

Saara Kuugongelwa (pronounced Sore⸍ a COO gon go lah-a ma DEE lah) assumed office of prime minister, the first woman to hold that office, March 21, 2015. She is highly respected and works to better her country, especially for women, who suffer discrimination and exclusion. Namibian Women’s Day aims to give women a louder voice in their society.

Kuugongelwa   bio:
Born October 12, 1967 in Okahao, Omusati, Namibia when it was named South West Africa
1980 — went into exile with South West Africa People’s Organization. She was 13
1982-84 —  attended Koidu Girls Secondary School, Sierra Leone
1984-87 — attended St. Joseph Secondary School, Sierra Leone
1991-94 — earned a master of science degree in economics from historically
                   Black Lincoln University in Pennsylvania; given honorary doctorate

 Political Career:
1995-2003 — Director General, National Planning Commission
2003-2015 — Minister of Finance
2015- present — prime minister

 Goals:
Gender equality
Recognize women’s rights as human rights

Personal life:
Married to Tobias Onesmus Amadhila, a businessman, suspected of irregularities in his business dealings.
(Some publications have it Onesmus Tobias Amadhila.)
No children

  Learn more about Saara Kuugongelwa:
https://thewomenleaders.com/saara-kuugongelwa
https://guardian.ng/ama-press-releases/prime-minister-saara-kuugongelwa-amadhila-to-provide-mentoring-advice-2
Saara Kuugongelwa Biography – Current Prime Minister of Namibia | Pantheon
Human Rights Day / Women’s Day 2023, 2024 and 2025 in Namibia – PublicHolidays.africa

My ebooks available at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com:

Honoring 23 Black Women, Recognizing 23 Notable Mothers, Saluting 23 Faithful Suffragists  

The post Women and Adversity: Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila Prime Minister of Namibia appeared first on Jo Ann Mathews.

Women and Adversity: Maia Sandu, President of Moldova

Maia Sandu, President of Moldova (Am 21.10.2021 empfing Außenminister Michael Linhart die moldawische Staatspräsidentin Maia Sandu in Wien.)

Women and Adversity:
Maia Sandu
President of Moldova

Maia Sandu (pronounced My⸍a San⸍du) faces more adversity than the average American realizes. In an interview in February 2023, Sandu said Moscow is trying to destabilize her country and wants to stage a coup. “The Kremlin’s attempts to bring violence to Moldova will not work. Our main goal is the security of citizens and the state,” she said.

Sandu was inducted as President of Moldova, officially named Republic of Moldova, December 24, 2020, and is the first woman to hold the office. In December 2022 she was ranked as the most trusted politician in Moldova.

Moldova is a landlocked country in the Balkan area of northern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and southwest and Ukraine to the north, east and south. It was part of the USSR until 1991 when it declared its independence. Its capital is Chișinău. It is one of the poorest countries in Europe. The country is only 13 square miles, and it has  2.6 million inhabitants. Based on its proximity to Ukraine, people can understand why she is concerned about an invasion.

  Sandu    bio:

Born May 24, 1972 in Risipenia Village, Falesti District in Moldova
Father —  a veterinarian
Mother — a teacher
Studied at the Risipeni Village school
1989-1994 — Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova, Faculty of Management,
                        majored in management
1995-1998 — master’s degree in international relations from Academy of Public
                        Administration in Chisinau
2010 — master’s degree in public policy from Kennedy School of Public Administration
at Harvard University

  Political Career: 

1994-1998 — Consultant, Deputy head, Ministry of Economy
1998-2005  —  Economist, World Bank Office, Chisinau
2005-2006 —  Director of Directorate-General for Macroeconomic Policy and
Development Programs at Ministry of Economy and Trade
2006-2009 —  Consultant, various projects in good governance and public administration
reform
2010-2012 — Advisor to the Executive Director of the World Bank, Washington, D.C.
July 2012-2015 —  Minister of Education, Republic of Moldova
2016 — Founded the Party of Action and Solidarity. President of the party until 2020
2019-2020 ­— Member of Republic of Moldova Parliament as Prime Minister
2020-present — President of Republic of Moldova

  Goals:

Maintain pro-European sentiment
Have Moldova become a member of the European Union by 2030
Reduce Moldova’s economic dependence on Russia

 Personal life:

Sandu speaks Romanian, the mother tongue, English, Spanish and Russian
Not married — no  children

  Learn more about Maia Sandu:

39 Facts About Maia Sandu | FactSnippet
Russia is planning coup in Moldova, says President Maia Sandu – POLITICO
500 days of Russian invasion: Sandu thanks Ukrainians for peace in Moldova | Ukrainska Pravda
www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Utube+of...

My ebooks available at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com:

Honoring 23 Black Women, Recognizing 23 Notable Mothers, Saluting 23 Faithful Suffragists  

The post Women and Adversity: Maia Sandu, President of Moldova appeared first on Jo Ann Mathews.

Women and Adversity: Ingrida Šimonytė, Prime Minister of Lithuania

Ingrida Šimonytė, Prime Minister of Lithuania (Official photo)

Women and Adversity:
Ingrida Šimonytė
Prime Minister of Lithuania

Ingrida Šimonytė (pronounced In gre⸍ dah See mow knee⸍ tah) has a long history of service to her country, and she is an excellent choice to be elected prime minister of Lithuania. In a recent interview she reminded the West that Lithuania warned them about the dangers Russia posed to its security. Its attack on Ukraine proves her point. “We actually lost our belief that Russia is willing to become part of this global economy in good faith,” she said a year ago. One interviewer describes her as down-to-earth, unostentatious, unassuming.

Lithuania is the largest, most populous and southernmost of the Baltic States, which includes Estonia and Latvia. Its capital is Vilnius, and it has 2.8 million people. Latvia borders it to the north, the Baltic Sea is on the west. The Russian province of Kaliningrad borders it to the southwest along with Poland. Belarus, a Russian ally, borders it on the east. Lithuania was part of Russia from 1944 until it declared its independence in 1990 and gained it in 1991. It became a member of the European Union and NATO in 2004 and began using the euro as its monetary unit in 2015.

Ingrida Šimonytė   bio:
Born November 15, 1974 in Vilnius
Father — a civil engineer
Mother — an economist
1996 — bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from Vilnius University
1998 — master’s degree in economics from Vilnius University

 

Political Career:
1997 — 2004 Ministry of Finance in tax division
2004-2009  —  Chancellor of the ministry and later deputy finance minister
2009-2012 —  Finance minister
2012-2016 — deputy chairperson of the board of the Bank of Lithuania
2016-2020   —  Elected to represent the constituency of Antakalnis,  an area of Vilnius
2020- present — Prime Minister of Lithuania

Personal life:
Šimonytė  speaks Lithuanian, English, Russian, Polish and basic Swedish
Not married — no  children

  Learn more about Ingrida Šimonytė:
Lithuanian PM Ingrida Simonyte: ‘Russia is losing, so Putin is attacking civilians’ • FRANCE 24 – YouTube
World Stage: Ukraine with Lithuania Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte – The Washington Post
https://www.afr.com/world/europe/how-lithuanian-pm-s-soviet-childhood-made-her-a-freedom-fighter-20220531-p5aps7

My ebooks available at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com:

Honoring 23 Black Women, Recognizing 23 Notable Mothers, Saluting 23 Faithful Suffragists  

 

 

 

 

 

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Women and Adversity: Anya Williams Interim Governor of Turks and Caicos

Anya Williams, Governor of Turks and Caicos Islands (Gov.TC Email)

Women and Adversity:Anya WilliamsGovernor of Turks and Caicos

My husband and I recently returned from a Caribbean cruise where one of the ports was Grand Turk Island, a place we had never visited. The guide on our around-the-island tour mentioned several times that Anya Williams was the governor of Turks and Caicos Islands. I wondered why he mentioned that fact numerous times, so I decided to investigate and feature her on my blog.

It turns out that Williams is the first woman to hold the post of governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and she is a native of Grand Turk Island. The Turks and Caicos Island group is a territory of the United Kingdom and lies north of the Hispaniola, which is Dominican Republic and Haiti, and southeast of the Bahamas. It’s basically in the Atlantic Ocean rather than the Caribbean Sea. Cockburn Town on Grand Turk is the seat of government, and the guide pointed out that building as well.

Williams was installed as governor on March 29, but June 29 British lawyer Dileeni Daniel Selvaratnam, current governor of Anguilla, will replace her, so Williams’ term has only been three months. The British appoint governors of their territories. She will probably return to the deputy governor position.

The islands are so proud to have one of their own as their leader, and Williams has an impressive resume.

Williams  bio:
Born October 8, 1980 on Grand Turk Island
Daughter of Pastors Dennis and Deborah Swann
Associate degree in English law and accounting from Barbados Community College
Bachelor of science and master of science degrees in accounting from Florida International University, Miami, Florida
Beta Gamma Sigma honor society, 3.9 grade point average

 Political Career:
2003 – 2012 – Joined the Turks and Caicos Islands public service as budget director and then became the permanent secretary of finance. “Finance is one of my passions,” she says.
October 15, 2012 – March 28, 2023 –  Deputy Governor. While deputy governor, she served as acting governor for 885 days while the governor was out of the country.
March 29 – June 29 -Governor of Turks and Caicos Islands
2018 – Recommended for Queen’s Birthday Honors, granting her a Member of the Order of the British Empire

Personal life:
Married to Darren Williams
Three children: Darius, 20; Cassandra, 14; Brooke, 9

  Learn more about Anya Williams:

The rise to the position of Deputy Governor in the Turks and Caicos Islands – Hon. Anya Williams – YouTube
https://www.britannica.com/place/Turks-and-Caicos-Islands
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-38679913

  My ebooks available at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com:

Honoring 23 Black Women, Recognizing 23 Notable Mothers, Saluting 23 Faithful Suffragists  

 

 

 

 

 

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Women and Adversity: May, The Month for Mothers, Kathy Headlee Miner, Founder, Mothers Without Borders

Kathy Headlee Miner, Founder, Mothers without Borders (picture, www.fnp.ae/blog)

Women and Adversity:
Kathy Headlee Miner
Founder, Mothers Without Borders

Kathy Headlee Miner remembers a woman in Mumbai, India, infected with the HIV virus asking her, “Who will care for my children when I’m dead?”

That question was the impetus for Miner to incorporate Mothers Without Borders as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in the year 2000. She wanted to be able to tell women, “I will help you. We will help you.”

From the time she was a child, Miner had a desire to help people in need. It was then she made the fervent intention to continue throughout her lifetime to help those suffering, especially the children. She was working with an agency in 1990 when she learned of the great number of Romanian children in orphanages. She asked if she could organize a group of volunteers to go there to help. When they agreed, she gathered volunteers and raised funds, so that in 1992 the group arrived in Romania to be with the orphaned children, primarily to read to them, play with them, and feed them. That was the ground floor for Mothers Without Borders, although Miner didn’t think at that time she’d form any bona-fide group.

She continued to volunteer and organize projects through other organizations until that fateful day in Mumbai. She believed she had to provide assistance to those in need throughout the world and decided to narrow her focus. Instead of trying to help all people in every way, she chose to limit her assistance to helping children. The MWB mission statement says: We offer hope to orphaned and vulnerable children by nurturing and caring for them as if they were our own.

Although the organization’s regional headquarters is in Zambia, it gives assistance to those in developing countries and works with the local community to be the most effective ion alleviating the suffering children endure. the plan to provide enough education and recovery so the children can reintegrate into their home areas and become productive members of society.

Miner credits her father, who believed in community service, with instilling in her a desire to help others. She was born in Richfield, Utah, August 15, 1953, the third of nine children. Her father was in the military so the family lived in Germany and several other places while she was growing up. She attended Brigham Young University in Salt Lake City, Utah, but couldn’t decide on a major so didn’t finish. She married and had four children and later adopted a girl from Romania.

She was a single mother until she married Phillip Miner in 2007, 19 years her junior. The couple live in Utah.

More Information:

Kathy Headlee – Utah Business 2022 Women of the Year – YouTube
Meet Our Team – Mothers Without Borders
Headlee Miner, Kathy – Utah Women’s Walk-Honoring the Women of Utah – Utah Valley University Digital Collections (oclc.org)

I featured Miner in my ebook, Women and Adversity, Recognizing 23 Notable Mothers. It is available at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.

The post Women and Adversity: May, The Month for Mothers, Kathy Headlee Miner, Founder, Mothers Without Borders appeared first on Jo Ann Mathews.

Women and Adversity: Lucy Keen Johnson, First Mother of the Year

Lucy Keen Johnson, First Mother of the Year, 1935 (es.newsner.com) 

Women and Adversity:
Lucy Keen Johnson
First Mother of the Year

Mother’s Day, to be celebrated this year on May 14, became an official U.S. holiday when President Woodrow Wilson made the proclamation in 2014. Suffragist Julia Ward Howe suggested the idea of a Mother’s Day in 1872, but it wasn’t until Anna Jarvis promoted the idea in 1908. The day honors all mothers, but in 1935 another tradition started, although not proclaimed by a president. It is Mother of the Year.

Lucy Keen Johnson has the honor of being named the first Mother of the Year and was labeled “the typical mother of 1935.” I don’t believe that tag is accurate because few women of the time went to college.

Lucy graduated from Wesleyan Conservatory in Macon, Georgia, the world’s oldest college for women. She went on to become its Dean of Women. By that time the name had changed to Wesleyan College. It is associated with the United Methodist Church, of which Lucy was an active and devoted member.

The mother label is accurate, though. When she was 21, she married Fletcher Johnson, a lawyer and widower with five children. The couple had a daughter of their own as well. However, Fletcher died in 1914. Lucy was left with the children, but by then the youngest was at least 17.

The American Mothers Committee named Lucy Mother of the Year, and Sarah Delano Roosevelt, FDRs mother, presented her with the silver Motherhood Medal at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City.

On receiving the medal, Lucy said it was “not for myself alone but for millions of American mothers who are making our land a great nation.” The Mother of the Year award continues to be given each year. A list of the mothers who have won and their accomplishments is at www.americanmothers.org/honor-mom/mother-of-the-year.

Not much is known about Lucy Keen Johnson’s life. She was born on March 23, 1876 and died on December 2, 1958. I could only find one picture. It would be fascinating research for someone to delve into Lucy’s life and learn what her children accomplished and who their descendants are.

Learn More

I include Lucy Keen Johnson in my ebook, Women and Adversity, Recognizing 23 Notable Mothers.I also wrote Women and Adversity: Honoring 23 Black Women and Women and Adversity: Saluting 23 Faithful Suffragists. All are available at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.

 

 

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Women and Adversity: Donna Everhart, Novelist

Donna Everhart, Novelist (Photo by Jo Ann Mathews)

Women and Adversity:
Donna Everhart
Novelist

Pelican Bookstore in Sunset Beach, North Carolina arranged for novelist Donna Everhart to appear recently at Silver Coast Winery in Ocean Isle Beach. She writes—as it says on her website—“authentic, vivid Southern fiction.” Her fifth and most recent novel The Saints of Swallow Hill, was her topic. I ask authors what obstacles they had to overcome when they decided to be a writer, and what obstacles they face once they are published.

Everhart says:

Writing a book is a huge risk, and hoping to get it published, you need a day job. A year into my dream come true (the acceptance of her debut novel, The Education of Dixie Dupree), I was diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer that became Stage 4. Three years later in 2019, my mother was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. I was going back through cancer treatment. That’s my biggest challenge in a nutshell, but I rode through it. I was too busy for cancer. I’m a five-year survivor. I go for scans every six months versus every three months.

Obstacle she faces now:

I have five books published. The sixth comes out in (February) 2024. Essentially, the obstacle is finding the time to write.

Everhart bio:

Born and raised in Raleigh. “I’ve lived in North Carolina my entire life except for third and fourth grades when I lived in Michigan, which was very traumatic for me. It had something to do with my accent.”
Worked in Information Technology for 35 yearsWorked for Nortel when it went bankrupt in 2008Went back to school and earned a degree

Writing career:

“I planned to write a book when I was 18.”After leaving Nortel, had about 85 pages—it was early 90sWorked with an editor in 2011Had 250 pagesWorked with another editor, who worked with an editor at Harper CollinsWorked with an agent for 11 years

  Books:

2016 – The Education of Dixie Dupree2017 – The Road to Bittersweet 2019 – The Forgiving Kind            2020 – The Moonshiner’s Daughter 2022 – The Saints of Swallow Hill

  Learn more:

www.donnaeverhart.com
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqZ-8HFNhQs
www.facebook.com/donnadaviseverhart
www.donnaeverhart.com/blog

My ebooks available at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com:

Honoring 23 Black Women, Recognizing 23 Notable Mothers, Saluting 23 Faithful Suffragists  

 

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