“Well-behaved women seldom make history.”
— Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
By Nikki Corda
My first “big girl” book was Women of Courage by Dorothy Nathan (1964). This was a collection of biographies that introduced kids to the lives of Susan B. Anthony, Jane Addams, Mary Bethune, Amelia Earhart, Elizabeth Blackwell, Florence Nightingale, and Margaret Mead. My well-worn copy was a hand-me-down from my sisters, and my mother, Helen, was determined I begin reading the book as soon as possible. Helen’s fierce indignation about the historical injustice women suffered was contagious, and I devoured that book with mad love for these trailblazers.