When the World Fell Silent

by Donna Jones Alward

I was so tired of being told how a woman should act. That my identity needed to be tied up in being someone’s wife or someone’s mother, as if those were a woman’s only contributions of value. A woman should be able to have a career she loved. She should have a say in her own life without needing a man’s approval or permission.

Frustration burned. Men could do what they wanted. They didn’t have to fight for the right to work and vote or even be considered an actual person in the eyes of the law. And men weren’t the ones to “get in trouble” and face hardship and social censure

“I thought I understood what love was, but now I know what it’s not. It’s not being swept off my feet and romanced, not about being reckless. It’s about being with someone who sees you at your worst and loves you anyway. Who knows what you need and gives it unreservedly.”