Julie Cannavino
March is Women's History Month. The first nationwide recognition of women's contributions occurred in 1980 when President Jimmy Carter signed a proclamation designating one week in March as National Women's History Week. This tradition of setting aside one week continued until 1987 when Congress passed resolutions and authorized the President to set aside the month of March as Women's History month.
If you want to learn more about contributions of women, visit the library. We have many titles on this topic! If you want to revisit a classic, check out "Little Women" by Louise May Alcott which was published in 1868. Throughout her life, Alcott supported not only women's rights, but fought for abolitionism as well.
Michelle Obama is another woman figure who championed her causes. She is a lawyer and the first African American First Lady. During her tenure as First Lady, she fought to reduce childhood obesity through her "Let's Move" initiative and supported military members and their families with "Joining Forces." More recently, Obama has been the author of several critically acclaimed books: "Becoming," which was published in 2018 and "The Light We Carry" which was published in 2022.
Another book that focuses on women in history is author Kate Moore's book titled "Radium Girls" from 2017 that chronicled the horrible story of the young women who worked in watch dial factories where they painstakingly painted watches and dials with radium, which unbeknownst to them caused horrible illness such as cancer, anemia, and problems with reduced bone growth.
A story that may be unfamiliar to you is the life of Tara Westover, who chronicled her journey in the memoir "Educated" which was released in 2018. In this book, Westover tells her tale of growing up in a survivalist Mormon family. What is remarkable is that Westover was 17 years old before stepping into a classroom. She went on to graduate magna cum laude from Brigham Young and earned a PhD in history.
The next two authors might be more recognizable to you. The 2022 memoir "Finding Me" by actor Viola Davis recounts how she overcame violence and racism and learned to love herself and find happiness. This book has been on the New York Times Bestseller List for months and was an Oprah's Book Club pick.
The next author that might be familiar to you is Valerie Bertinelli whose book "Enough Already: Learning to Love the Way I am Today" was released in 2022. Her struggles with self-image and self-worth are, unfortunately, relatable to many women today. Her book documents how she can conquered those feelings and learned to accept herself.
The library has books about Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Laura Ingalls Wilder, the Coder Breakers of World War II, women spies during the Civil war, and many other famous (and not so famous) women. Every woman, and man, has the ability to make significant changes to the world around them. I hope that you will take time to read about women who have made their mark, whether large or small, on our great nation.
Julie Cannavino is library director for the Nassau County Public Library System. She has a master’s degree in library science and has worked in school and college libraries, as well as public libraries. Questions or comments? Contact her at jcannavino@nassaucountyfl.com.