Women Who Could... and Did: Lives of 26 Exemplary Artists and Scientists (Paperback)

~ Karma Kitaj (Author) "In the 1950s my mother went to college to become a teacher when she was in her forties after she had had three children..." (more)
Key Phrases: agentic selves, easy roses, relational selves, New York, World War, Maud Morgan (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

A substantial contribution to feminist history...a real service to see the (women's) work chronicled here. -- Fearless Reviews, September, 2002

Product Description

"Paper mentor" based on candid interviews with prominent artists and scientists over age 65 provides inspiration, support, and guidance for young women entering careers and for mid-career changers.

Parents, guidance and career counselors, as well as gender studies professors will find this book invaluable in providing women with role models who share their life stories with humor, compassion, and zest.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Huckle Hill Pr (May 5, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971595720
• ISBN-13: 978-0971595729
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,303,210 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A readable, informative book for today's career woman, July 7, 2002

By	Jean Middleton (Riverside, CA USA) - See all my reviews

"Having it all" became the motif of career women of the seventies and eighties. Can women have a successful career and also fulfill what Dr. Kitaj calls "the romance plot," marriage and family? The romance plot was the ideal most women pursued in the early 20th century, leaving to males the adventuresome "quest plot." The women in this book chose the quest and became highly successful despite obstacles encountered in the workplace as well as in their personal lives.

The women here are not famous in the usual sense, but all are renowned in their fields. Dr. Kitaj chose 26 women of high achievement in science and the arts. All were over 65 when she began her study, born between 1903 and 1930. They had chosen a career during the years when it was expected that women would stay home and rear children. Although they had established their careers long before the feminist movement of the seventies, they did not consider themselves as groundbreakers. Gender discrimination in the workplace was an issue, but most of the women were not entirely aware that they were experiencing it. As their stories emerge through the interviews and research done by the author, it becomes apparent that each woman used her talents in different ways in varied fields such as research, art, music, education, film, and writing to achieve personal satisfaction and eventual recognition from her peers.

Each woman's background is examined, and four are singled out for a more thorough look at their lives. How did parents' attitudes, education, and family background affect these women and their lives? Many were from immigrant families. Fathers played a significant role for many of the women as well as mothers. Some were from intact families, others from broken homes.

What about the romance plot? Most of the women chose to marry as well as to have a career. Husbands, both supportive and nonsupportive, also entered into the picture. Many marriages were successful, and l others ended in divorce. A very few of the women never married. A number had successful second marriages. Still others did not remarry and concentrated on their children and careers. Most of the women who married had children, and some who did not regretted having missed the opportunity to rear children. Most seemed satisfied with the way in which they had combined the romance and quest plots in their lives.

Students and historians will find here a well-researched study, backed with notes, bibliography, methodology, and a comprehensive index. The sample of 26 is too small for the results to be applied to all women, or even to all prominent women. The author did, however, illuminate how and why these women made sense of their lives.

Dr. Kitaj, herself a career counselor as well as a psychotherapist, discusses mentoring at length in her book. She points out that these women can become "paper mentors" to the reader. Women of any age just entering their chosen fields today may find a model to follow here even if they have no mentor in their lives.

Can career women today "have it all"? This book describes 26 women who
could. . .and did.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiration and Guidance for Young and Older Women, August 5, 2002

By	Jim Cox, Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI, USA) - See all my reviews

Karma Kitaj's Women Who Could...and Did showcases the lives of 26 great and accomplished women through illustrative interviews, anecdotes, and vignettes. In these tales of successful lives, readers can find insight on how they too can doggedly pursue a favorite career, blend responsibilities of work and family, and find contentment at an advanced age. A superb collection of role models for women readers of all ages. Women Who Could...and Did is an enthusiastically recommended addition to Women's Studies, Career Development, and Women's Biography supplemental reading lists and academic reference collections.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Forthcoming review, Dr. Ruth Reports, The Senior Times, 1/03, July 25, 2002

By	Jim Cox, Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI, USA) - See all my reviews

I want to share some lessons in living from a new book by Karma Kitaj, Ph.D., a psychotherapist who interviewed 26 women born between 1903 and 1930. These 26 women had coping strategies we all could utilize in 2003 and beyond. They took action or organized with others. They never took no for an answer. They followed their own stars. They shifted gears. They epitomized what Dr. Kitaj characterizes as passion, perseverance and power-with-others. They show ways to promote a fulfilling life into old age. In their advanced years many now continue creative pursuits. One of the highlights for me was the photographs, as we do not see positive pictures of older women often enough in the media.