Telephone Call with Book Club

Post #20 – Rosie’s Daughters: The “First Woman To” Generation Tells Its Story by Matilda Butler and Kendra Bonnett

UPDATE: Here's the promised photo of the book club gathering.

Tuesday evening I had a great experience. Kendra and I have met with book clubs before, but I’d never met with one via the telephone. This group of women arrived at Diana’s home in Arlington Heights, just outside Chicago. About 15 members gathered around 7 PM. That gave them time to say hi to each other, grab a cup of tea, and get settled. One person who couldn’t attend even managed to listen in via her own phone connection.

Meanwhile, I was in California getting ready. I had a fresh pot of my favorite lemon-ginger tea and a treasured Japanese teacup. I pulled a copy of Rosie’s Daughters: The “First Woman To” Generation from the shelf by my desk. It turns out that I didn’t need it, but I like having it nearby for reference. Once I was ready, I resumed working on a chapter for a new book (Writing Alchemy: How to Turn Your Words into Gold) until the phone rang.

It only took a couple of minutes to get the connection made and the speaker phone in a good position. Let the fun began. I talked a little about the genesis of Rosie’s Daughters and the journey I’ve been on since 2000 when I got the idea for this book. My life path was changed by the more than 100 women I interviewed. I became aware of the need for women to tell and value their life stories. After the book was completed, I delved into the area of memoir writing, started a website called Women’s Memoirs, developed teaching materials, and began offering memoir writing workshops at colleges and privately.

The group was generous in letting me talk about my dual passions for the message of empowerment in Rosie’s Daughters and women’s memoir writing. Then I answered their questions. A really great one focused on the role of women in the work force today if there had not been a World War II. I’ve never been asked that before and found it a thought-provoking concept.

The book club has promised a picture of the group. If they send me a copy, I’ll post it on this blog.

Meanwhile, if you have a book club that would like to read Rosie’s Daughters, please let us know. We’d be delighted to use a conference call to discuss the book.

I’d like to give my thanks to Diana, who hosted the book club, and to Lara, who made all the arrangements with me. It was especially heartening to hear that the group, representing different ages, felt the content worked especially well across generations.