THE OLD WOLF LADY: A Biography [Paperback]

Joyce Daniels (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 21, 2005

Jackie Day was a pioneer of social justice for women, Native Americans, African Americans, and Vietnam Veterans. This compelling biography creates a sensitive and humorous portrait from her humble beginnings to her active and dedicated 80th decade.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The Old Wolf Lady inspires us all with its depiction of a woman who used her natural strengths and passions to live fully and to make a difference. -- Marjorie Carlson-Davis, author of A Little Menagerie

Daniels distills countless interviews with Jackie Day, her colleagues and her family into an engaging narrative, peppered with Jackie's own language and stories. -- Suzanne Kelsey, Editor and Writing Coach

From the Inside Flap

In this compelling biography, author Joyce Daniels creates a sensitive and humorous portrait of Jackie Day, from her humble beginnings to her active and dedicated 80th decade.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Booklocker.com, Inc. (March 21, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591136962
• ISBN-13: 978-1591136965
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,459,384 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

j.d. (joyce) daniels` fiction and poetry has appeared in various publications, including: The Broad River Review, The Sylvan Echo, The Elkhorn Review, Doorknobs & BodyPaint Fantastic Flash Fiction: An Anthology and Riverbabble. She received a prize for poetry from Emerson College/Cambridge University, is a recipient of an Iowa Arts Council grant and is listed in the Iowa Arts Directory and with The Iowa Center of the Book. Her book, The Old Wolf Lady: A Biography is sold in several bookstores online and in Prairie Lights. She was awarded her doctoral degree for her collection of poems, Currents That Puncture. Currently she is a prose editor for a new online literary journal, Prairie Wolf Press.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling Biography, December 28, 2006

By 

Prairie Wolf Books (Iowa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: THE OLD WOLF LADY: A Biography (Paperback)

In this compelling biography, author Joyce Daniels creates a sensitive and humorous portrait of Jackie Day, from her humble beginnings to her active and dedicated eightieth decade. Daniels distills countless interviews with Jackie Day, her colleagues and her family into an engaging narrative, peppered with Jackie's own colorful language, stories, and jokes. I found myself laughing out loud at some of Jackie's unique phrases and tales.

Daniels chooses just the right stories and examples to give readers a
multi-dimensional picture of Jackie. Daniels' own skills as a storyteller
are evident when she narrates her interactions with Jackie. Jackie Day comes alive on the page.

In addition, Daniels allows Jackie Day's colleagues and family members to
speak for themselves, adding an even deeper understanding of the Old Wolf
Lady. In The Old Wolf Lady, Daniels has
created an engaging record of an important woman's life and her
contributions to Iowa and women's history.

4.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring Read for Local Politicians, December 3, 2006

By 

Suzanne (Iowa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: THE OLD WOLF LADY: A Biography (Paperback)

Born in the Southeast Bottoms of Des Moines in 1918, using the family bathtub for her bed until she was four, Jacqueline H. Armstrong Day, AKA Jackie Day, emerged from a poverty-stricken childhood as a feisty scrapper who became active in the Republican party on local, state, and national levels. Day turned her father's colorful, raw expressions into a Jackie Day trademark that is fondly remembered in this book by former Iowa governor Robert Ray and former journalist Dolph Pullium, among others. Jackie Day rose above the expectations of women in her time, working as a member of the Nurse's Aid Corps with returning WWII vets, helping organize the National Republican Convention in San Francisco in 1956, serving as Secretary of the Iowa Headquarters at the National Republican Convention in Chicago in 1960, and traveling in 1967 to Vietnam with an Iowa delegation on a fact-finding mission.

Joyce Daniels, Iowa writer and college professor, writes with humor, admiration, and charm about her uncle's wife, who is described by others as "a master mechanic for the Republican party," "a sparkling woman of uncut realism," and a woman with "Betty Grable legs." Daniels shares Jackie-isms, like "Life shouldn't be a spectator sport," and "The easiest way to resent your age is to regret the things you haven't done." And then there are the many anecdotes, like the time Jackie "dry gulched" Gene Autry, cowboy movie star: in order to make room for the Iowa headquarters for the National Republican Convention, she sent him packing from a San Francisco hotel he had refused to leave. Daniels writes, "As the 200 Iowa delegates began to arrive, Jackie simply gave them the number of Autry's suite and told them it was the place to pick up their tickets and credentials." Autry finally realized "he was facing a faster gun" and moved out.

The Old Wolf Lady inspires us all with its depiction of a common woman who used her natural strengths and passions to live fully and to make a difference.

4.0 out of 5 stars Important Life Lessons, September 12, 2006

By 

Sherry (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: THE OLD WOLF LADY: A Biography (Paperback)

The Old Wolf Lady by Joyce Daniels is a wonderful, heartfelt book about Jacqueline Day, a woman who lived life on her terms. Daniels paints a vivid picture of an assertive woman of action who refused to play the role others prescribed for her. She brought attention to the inequality of women, soldiers fighting and dying in Vietnam, racial issues and the plight of Native Americans. The Old Wolf Lady should be an integral part of every women's study group not only in the United States, but throughout the world. But its lessons are not restricted only to women. The book also speaks to the universal issues of love, faith, honor, dedication and good old-fashioned `horse sense'. The Old Wolf Lady is a must read for anyone who seeks a glimpse of a woman who knew how to live life to the fullest.