How women build fulfilling lives is a question Kathleen has been thinking about since she was a girl. The daughter of a stay-at-home mother and a lawyer father, she went to law school as the feminist movement surged into a second wave. More recently she is the founder and co-host of the Boston literary salon, Booklab and has turned her full attention to writing. You can read a sample of her writing in her essay Ms. Magazine just published about Michelle Wu, her campaign manager, Mary Lou Akai and what she learned about immigrants while writing this book.

Kathleen interviewed these women, all born before 1935, about their ambition — where it came from and how it played out. They talked about early experiences and influences: parents, family friends, teachers, even institutions like settlement houses. Some had professors who encouraged them; others were told no woman belonged in the field. Some spouses gave invaluable support; others none at all. Many found strong mentors in the workplace. THEY CALLED US GIRLS is a fascinating and inspirational book about female ambition and unorthodox paths toward fulfillment that is essential reading for women and girls today.

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About the Author

Kathleen Stone knows something about female ambition. As a lawyer, she was a law clerk to a federal judge, a litigation partner in a law firm, and senior counsel at a financial institution. She also taught seminars on American law in six foreign countries, including as a Fulbright Senior Specialist. Kathleen’s work has been published in Ploughshares, Arts Fuse, Los Angeles Review of Books, Timberline Review, and The Writer’s Chronicle. She holds graduate degrees from Boston University School of Law and the Bennington Writing Seminars and lives in Boston.