In Her Own Time

by Maggie Siggins

It all started with an R.H. King Collegiate class of ’61 26 women meeting 30 years after their graduation. Siggins was struck by their wide range of fascinating life stories. These, after all, were the women who were born during the war, had come of age in the ’60s, and were changed by the women’s movement of the ’70s. They had all stood at the forefront of one of the greatest revolutions in history — the emancipation of half the human race.

Inspired by that reunion, Siggins set out to write the life stories of her classmates, using the emerging themes from these intense dramas as a gateway to explore women’s lives throughout history. The result is a compelling series of personal journeys linked by nothing less than an absorbing cultural history of women in the Western world, from antiquity to the present.

A book that speaks powerfully to people of all ages — and especially those of “the cusp generation” — In Her Own Time is an inspiring, informative and wholly entertaining read.

Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Marion · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this book. The short biographies of women of my own era are interspersed with summary histories of women through history looked at through cultural lenses. It was a very long book, but all the parts are short and accessible. It was like visiting with women I know (these stories are ALL so familiar) and chatting about how we've all come in regards to creativity, family, health, politics, education, etc. etc. These women even live(d) in cities and communities I know and have lived in myself. I'm so glad I discovered it.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I preferred the individual stories of the women of the class reunion to the cultural history parts. Part of what appealed to me was the Toronto-specific content, and that did not disappoint. (Most of the women lived what I would consider sad lives, though.)