Mar 2 2021, 11:20 am in Woman's History Month
As a writer I’m asking you to take some time and talk to the women in your family to get the other half of the story.
Other half of the story?
Yes. World events, disasters, family triumphs and celebrations told from their unique point of view. The vast majority of historical events is written from a male perspective. Hearing a woman’s point of view can be enlightening.
Where they were, what they thought when Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon.
Who in your family remembers rationing during WWII? Ask how difficult it was during that time to go months without letters from a loved one.
Find out what it was like to have a family member in Vietnam and, for the first time in history, see the war on the news every evening.
What they remember about Jackie Kennedy.
Where they were on the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001
Their first car. Boyfriend. The time they met Elvis. The real reason Aunt Gertrude left town. How Uncle Johnny got all his money.
Have you ever spoken to your mom about the day you were born?
Do you know the black sheep of your families?
How did the women in your family meet the love of their life? What they thought when they did. I asked this question at a ladies gathering. One gal shared how she met the love of her life and then told us how she met her husband.
Do your children know how you met their father?
A family member was going to reveal a huge—her word—family secret to me. We’d set up a time for me to go over and hear this secret. She died before she could tell me. I’m left with a bazillion questions and a great deal of regret. Don’t have this happen to you. Transfer your family stories to words on the page so they will never be lost.
There is a perfectly wonderful National Women’s History Museum to learn more about women of this country and inspire you. I particularly like the online exhibits page. https://www.womenshistory.org/womens-history
Rita
