Rosie's Daughters: The "First Woman To" Generation Tells Its Story (Paperback)

by Matilda Butler (Author), Kendra Bonnett (Author)
Key Phrases: physical capital, cognitive capital, emotional capital, Seven Life Capitals, Generation Gives Birth, Generation Goes (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
...you'll enjoy eavesdropping on the FW2 generation. -- The Story Circle Network Review, Karen Ryan reviewer

Butler and Bonnett encourage us to consider our worth and spend it wisely as powerful and empowered women. -- Martha Alderson, author of Blockbuster Plots Pure and Simple

Matilda Butler and Kendra Bonnett have given us a provocative personal history of our time. -- Christine L. Borgman, Professor & Presidential Chair in Information Studies, Univ. of California, Los Angeles

Rosie's Daughters helps us understand the social contexts within which our stories have taken place. ... impressively conceived, vividly told. -- Susan Wittig Albert, best-selling author of the China Bayles mystery series, founder of the Story Circle Network

a masterful job of weaving many voices into an easy to read text filled with "Aha!" moments. -- Beth Proudfoot, Director of the East of Eden Writers Conference

Product Description
In Rosie's Daughters, Matilda Butler and Kendra Bonnett have written an inspiring collective memoir of the generation of women who excelled at "firsts." These women, born during World War II, were shaped by and then helped to shape the American historic, economic, political and socio-cultural landscape. They were the pioneers who charted the paths for the Boomer generation. From the vantage point of their sixties, they share their experiences and insights with their own and younger generations.

The figurative mother of this generation, Rosie the Riveter, is a mythic figure in our culture, with good reason--she built ships, flew bombers and filled thousands of other essential wartime jobs, upending traditional views of "women's work." When the war was over, however, American industry thanked Rosie and sent her home.

Rosie, who had known the economic dislocations of The Depression and the employment and service opportunities of the war period, raised her daughters with a mixed message - stay home as wife and mother - be prepared "in case." Rosie's Daughters grew up and flung wide the doors of employment opportunity that Rosie had unlocked. These women can claim more career "firsts" and greater socio-cultural change than any previous generation.

Their stories, recounted in Rosie's Daughters, show how the post-war education boom, the sexual revolution, civil rights and gender equality, the Vietnam War, Roe v. Wade, no-fault divorce and other momentous events influenced their lives and shaped their remarkable journeys.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Iaso Books (October 29, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0979306191
• ISBN-13: 978-0979306198
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #744,199 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eavesdropping on women born during WWII, October 29, 2007

By	Karen Ryan "writinglady" (Fort Myers, FL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Rosie's Daughters is a delightful collection of stories written by and about the generation of women born during World War II (1940-45).
Psychologist Matilda Butler interviewed over 100 women from all over the country, and along with Kendra Bonnett, put her research into a collective memoir, placing personal stories within a cultural context. "In each story we find an individual; with a preponderance of stories we begin to see the patterns that define our generation."

Rosie's daughters were raised by the women who worked alongside the mythic Rosie the Riveter. They are known as the FW2 Generation for the sheer numbers of them who became the `First Woman To__. "They can claim more firsts in personal change, educational attainment, and career achievements than any previous generation"

The familiar face of Rosie herself graces the cover of this stylish book. A timeline runs along the bottom of each page beginning with 1940 in chapter 1 and ending with 2005. Each year lists some of the most memorable moments of the time highlighting women's achievements. Period black & white photographs pepper the pages like a well-worn family scrapbook. Famous FW2 women, like Linda Ellerbee and Cokie Roberts, share their words of wisdom in the margins for further reflection.
The core chapters of the book follow the chronology of a woman's life: Education, Marriage, Children, Work, Divorce, & Spiritual Lives.

Butler found herself changed by writing this book. "I may have started as a social scientist but I grew into a memoirist" She confirms what all of us who write our life stories come to realize. "Telling (or writing) one's life story is a transformative event. You will not be the same at the ending as you were at the beginning."

Whether you were born during WWII, or before, or are a Baby Boomer, like myself, you will enjoy eavesdropping on the FW2 generation.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rosie's Daughters, December 4, 2007

By	Julia P. Stallings (Illinois) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is both a fascinating and serious look at the lives of women born during World War 11. I read it twice. The first time for the personal stories, and the second time for the socio-cultural context in which these women lived. It is the perfect book to give to adult children who think that the world begins and ends with the Boomer generation. I highly recommend Rosie's Daughters to readers of all ages.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rosie's Daughters, November 6, 2007

By	Virginia W. Mcdonald (Tubac, AZ) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I just recently finished reading Rosie's Daughters and LOVED IT! I thought I might have some difficulty with the format as it is a little different than my accustomed reading, but I had no problem at all. In fact, it was great fun deciding how I would go at it and which part or section I would read first. I didn't really develop a pattern, but just did what felt best. The book is definitely a "page turner". Thank you for the amazing insight you have of our generation. The book certainly helped me figure out many things in my own life that I wouldn't have considered before reading this amazing book.