Addict: a person who has a compulsion toward some activity. Because these compulsions are often injurious, the label of addict has negative connotations. So one might instead choose alternative labels, such as aficionado, buff, devotee, enthusiast, fan, fanatic, junkie, etc.
One who is addicted is dependent on something. Again, self-labeling might tend toward alternatives such as absorbed, devoted, fond, hooked, hyped, prone to, etc.
An addiction, being a habit of activity, is represented by many slang expressions, including bag, bent, craving, dependence, enslavement, fixation, hang-up, hook, inclination, jones, kick, monkey, obsession, shot, or thing. You’ll notice that these are largely negative, and seldom applied to book addicts.
But essentially, anything that is addictive is habit-forming, and that certainly applies to books.
Why addictions? Basically, an addiction is a coping mechanism. It is what a person turns to in time of stress, distress, boredom, anxiety, depression, etc. It takes one’s mind off whatever is unsatisfactory or unsettling. Many people will happily admit to “escapist” reading.
Not sure whether you’re a book addict or not?
Symptoms of book addiction:
carrying a book (or e-reader) everywhere
reading on subways, trains, planes, and when a passenger in a car
reading in doctors’ waiting rooms or exam rooms, or when waiting for anything
reading before the play or movie starts, and during intermissions
reading during lunch or coffee breaks at work
having stacks of unread books at home but still buying/borrowing more
consistently preferring the book to the movie or TV series
becoming anxious, uncomfortable, or irritable when no book is at hand
A sign of book addiction
Dangers of book addiction:
it can lead to further frustration when waiting for the next book by your favorite author(s)
it often annoys family or friends
limits exposure to other pop culture alternatives
it can become costly, especially if you are at the book-a-day level of addiction.
As Erasmus once said, “When I get a little money, I buy books; and if any is left, I buy food and clothes.”
And, beware, this addiction is often passed on to one’s children and grandchildren, ad infinitum.
Advantages of book addiction:
Unlike other addictions, unless you actually try to read while driving or crossing a busy street, it isn’t likely to cause permanent or serious physical harm; and it has an educational component, exposing the addict to a broader vocabulary, exotic places, and the expansive possibilities of the human mind.
Of course, for a true addict, it leaves one open to a related psychological disorder.
Takeaway for book addicts:
Go for it! To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, your best friend is a person who will give you a book you have not read. FYI, such persons are also known as “enablers.”
Surely everyone can name at least one famous writer also famous for drinking. Think Raymond Chandler, Tennessee Williams, Dorothy Parker, Edgar Allen Poe. . . . If not, an internet search will turn up titles like these.
Top 15 Great Alcoholic Writers
Drinking Habits of Famous Authors
Top 10 Drunk American Writers
99 Writers who Were Alcoholics, Drunks, Addicted To Booze, Etc.
25 Great Writers Who Battled Drug Addiction and Alcoholism
All The Drunk Dudes: The Parodic Manliness Of The Alcoholic Writer
‘Every hour a glass of wine’—the female writers who drank
What drives writers to drink?
This last question has led to numerous academic examinations and investigations of the topic.
As for “How to Drink Like Kerouac, Hemingway, and Other Famous Writers,” don’t try this at home, lest you end up on the list of “Famous Alcoholic Writers Who Died of Alcoholism.”
So, although I don’t advise writers to drink, I do advise knowing about alcohol. It’s such an integral part of life in America—celebrations, business dinners, relaxation, sports events, picnics, parties, all sorts of gatherings from weddings to funerals—that one can hardly write realistically without scenes involving alcohol. So here are a few basic facts you should be aware of and ready to justify if you go against them. See below for why your petite female PI would be unlikely to drink a hulking athlete under the table.
Alcohol for Writers: The Facts
In general, bigger people, more muscular people, and males get drunk slower than smaller people, less-muscular people, and females.
Even controlling for height and weight, women absorb alcohol faster and metabolize it slower than men. In other words, they get drunk faster and stay drunk longer.
In general, the health-related problems for women drinkers come on faster and are more devastating than for men.
People get drunk faster on an empty stomach than after a full meal. I’ve read that ancient Romans drank olive oil to coat the stomach before their binges, because that slows-down the absorption of alcohol into the bloodstream.
People who drink regularly and heavily have a greater capacity (tolerance) than those who drink less.
People are more likely to blackout from fast drinking than from slow drinking of the same amount of alcohol.
A standard drink is defined as 1.5 oz.shot of liquor, 5 oz. of wine, or 12 oz. of beer. Most wine coolers are the equivalent of one standard drink. FYI, heavy drinking = anything more than two drinks per day for men or 1 drink per day for women.
Having 2-3 drinks can cause a loss of motor control 12 to 18 hours after drinking. Name your accidental injury—falls, drownings, automobile accidents, etc.—and the incidence goes up with alcohol consumption. Name your intentional injuries—shooting, stabbing, physical violence, rape—it’s more likely to happen with alcohol.
There’s a reason athletes don’t drink before big events. Two to three drinks can deplete aerobic capacity and decrease endurance up to 48 hours after consumption.
Alcohol impairs both learning new information and recalling previously learned information.
Alcohol is a depressant for the central nervous system. People initially get “high” because the first thing to get depressed is inhibitions, creating a willingness to party and live dangerously. But beyond the buzz is the risk of seriously depressing metabolic functioning. A pulse rate below 40 or a breathing rate slower than 8-10 per minute is a medical emergency!
The website brad21.org is a great resource for writers! B.R.A.D. stands for Be Responsible About Drinking. It’s a series of bullet facts, well-footnoted for further reading.
Other Things Writers Should Know
…especially if a main character drinks.
First, perhaps most obviously, you need to decide on a preferred drink. According to bartenders, here are 10 drink stereotypes to help you create the desired impression. (Taken from complex.com, “The Funny Ways Bartenders Stereotype You Based On What You Drink.”)
-Vodka sodas are for people who want to lose weight—or want people to think so—but not enough to quit drinking.
-Jager bombs and vodka Red Bull are for basic bros.
-Blue Moon is for craft beer posers.
-Real craft beer drinkers are actually pretty cool.
-Annoying people act like they invented picklebacks. (Apparently a shot of whisky followed by a shot of pickle juice—really.)
-Buttery Chardonnays are for soccer moms.
-Only rookies drink Appletinis.
-Bud Light is for sporting events and day drinking, not Saturday night.
-Martinis are a classic, classy drink.
-Shots should be taken with a beer or a celebration. (Otherwise they’re for alcoholics.)
For a funny but useful commentary on everything from absinthe to wine see pointsincase.com, in an article titled “What Your Drink Says About You.”
Second, know your character’s drink. Know what it looks like, how it smells, how strong it is, and its taste. Also, whether wine, beer, or liquor, a drinker is likely to have the everyday brand and the special-occasion brand.
Third, know your character’s drinking habits and reactions. Know when, where, under what circumstances, and how much s/he drinks. People usually have a pattern of reaction to alcohol, roughly: fall asleep, talk more, repeat him/herself, verbal abusiveness, physical violence.
Takeaway for Writers
What’s good for characters isn’t good for authors!
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature created by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week, they provide a prompt for bloggers. This week’s prompt is Ten Facts About Me.
During the first minutes of my first time alone with my future father-in-law (an academic dean), he said, “Tell me. What were the guiding principles by which you were reared?” I’d never given that much thought, but being young and intrepid, I came up with the following—not in any particular order.
If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right.
Finish what you start.
If at first you don’t succeed, try again.
Failing is nothing to be ashamed of, but not trying your best is.
Go as far as you can, as fast as you can.
Education is the union card to a better life.
Your word is your bond.
Say what you mean and mean what you say.
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Always be there for family.
It’s better to be the one giving help than the one receiving it.
When all is said and done, be prepared to take care of yourself and yours.
When I think of these guiding principles, I always hear my father’s voice. I always see his face.
Dictionary definitions of paranoia include: a serious mental illness that causes you to falsely believe that other people are trying to harm you; an unreasonable feeling that people are trying to harm you, do not like you, etc.; a psychosis characterized by systematized delusions of persecution or grandeur usually without hallucinations; a tendency on the part of an individual or group toward excessive or irrational suspiciousness and distrustfulness of others. in common parlance, a belief that people and objects in the environment are out to get you. Paranoia is a rich mine for writers.
For one thing, paranoiacs are not happy—how could they be?—and we all know that miserable characters can be extremely effective.
But beyond that, writers should know several things. Paranoiacs are often above average in intelligence and function very well over-all within the family and work spheres. Note the phrase above about systematized delusions. They have well-integrated systems of belief that can often convince others that their beliefs are reasonable.
Also, the strict definition of paranoia includes several slippery modifiers: falsely believe, unreasonable feeling, excessive or irrational suspiciousness and distrustfulness. This gives writers a lot of latitude to develop tension.
Consider a poster that a classmate in graduate school had in his office:
Just Because You’re Paranoid Doesn’t Mean They Aren’t Out To Get You.
But perhaps the most value is in the fuzzy edges. For example, people losing their hearing but not yet recognizing the loss often tend toward paranoia: not hearing all that others say, s/he may suspect that people are mumbling or whispering in order to keep secrets.
And consider characters who have suspicious tendencies. What about a character who reads—or even writes—a book like one or more of the following.
Don’t Let Your Doctor Kill You by Dr. Erika Schwartz with M.J. Peltier
The Survivalist’s Handbook: How to Thrive When Things Fall Apart by Rainer Stahlberg
Bug Out: The Complete Plan for Escaping a Catastrophic Disaster Before It’s Too Late by Scott B. Williams
Build The Perfect Bug Out Vehicle: The Disaster Survival Vehicle Guide by Creek Stewart
Someone’s Watching You by Forest Lee
Dangerous Instincts: Use an FBI Profiler’s Tactics to Avoid Unsafe Situations by M.E. O’Toole and A. Bowman
How To Be Safe: Protecting Yourself, Your Home, Your Family, and Your Business from Crime
Dangerous Personalities: An FBI Profiler Shows You How to Identify and Protect Yourself from Harmful People
Takeaway for Writers
Include characters with suspicions, whether justified or not.
Odd Type Writers by Celia Blue Johnson is a delightful discovery! The subtitle says it all. I recommend it for bedtime, the beach, the doctor’s waiting room, the subway commute. . . Well written, lively, each section short and entertaining.
Last week I posted on Why We Write. Consider this book a companion piece to that one. Johnson culled the quirkiest bits and most obsessive behaviors of each author from interviews, websites, biographies, etc. In her own words, “Edgar Allan Poe balanced a cat on his shoulder while he wrote. Agatha Christie munched on apples in her bathtub while concocting murder plots. Victor Hugo shut himself inside and wore nothing but a long, gray, knitted shawl when he was on a tight deadline.” And so much more!
From the Table of Contents
By Unknown; most likely George C. Gilchrest, Samuel P. Howes, James M. Pearson, or Andrew J. Simpson, all of Lowell, MA [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons {{PD-US}}
Rotten Ideas: Friedrich Schiller
By the Cup: Honoré de Balzac
Feeling Blue: Alexandre Dumas, père
House Arrest: Victor Hugo
A Mysterious Tail: Edgar Allan Poe
The Traveling Desk: Charles Dickens
Paper Topography: Edith Wharton
The Cork Shield: Marcel Proust
Flea Circus: Colette
Traffic Jamming: Gertrude Stein
Tunneling by the Thousands: Jack London
A Writer’s Easel: Virginia Woolf
Crayon, Scissors, and Paste: James Joyce
Leafing Through the Pages; D.H.Lawrence
Puzzling Assembly: Vladimir Nabokov
Outstanding Prose: Ernest Hemingway
Sound Writing: John Steinbeck’Pin It Down: Eudora Welty
Don’t Get Up: Truman Capote
Early to Write: Flannery O’Connor
You’ll enjoy these sketches of famous authors whether you’ve read their work or not! Cover to cover, this is a great read!
This book, edited by Meredith Maran, presents interviews with 20 acclaimed authors on why and how they write. In case you can’t read the names on the cover, these authors span genres and styles:
Why We Write
Isabel Allende
David Baldacci
Jennifer Egan
James Frey
Sue Grafton
Sara Gruen
Kathryn Harrison
Gish Jen
Sebastian Junger
Mary Karr
Michael Lewis
Armistead Maupin
Terry McMillan
Rick Moody
Walter Mosley
Susan Orlean
Ann Patchett
Jodi Picoult
Jane Smiley
Meg Wolitzer
As Maran writes in the introduction, “When the work is going well, and the author is transported, fingers flying under the watchful eye of the muse, she might wonder, as she takes her first sip of the coffee she poured and forgot about hours ago, ‘How did I get so lucky, that this is what I get to do?’”
Alternatively, “And then there are the less rapturous days or weeks or decades, when the muse is injured on the job and leaves the author sunk to the armpits in quicksand, and every word she types or scribbles is wrong, wrong, wrong, and she cries out to the heavens, ‘Why am I doing this to myself?’”
Meredith Maran, Photo by Lesley Bohm
As the interviews show, the creme de la creme of the writing world fly to the same heights and plunge to the same depths as every other writer.
Besides insights into the writing life of eminent writers, Moran gives us their vital statistics, list of collected works, and their Wisdom for Writers. So if you want to know who translates Isabel Allende’s books (Margaret Sayers Peden), how long David Baldacci practiced law (9 years), or when Jodi Picoult was born (May 19, 1966), look no more. Yes, you could find that information online, if you thought to look for it, but here it is, whether you knew you wanted to know or not.
Why We Write Words of Wisdom
Here are some of the words of wisdom I most took to heart:
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature created by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week, they provide a prompt for bloggers. This week is a freebie, so I’m writing about Ten Reasons I Love Dictionaries.
I once said that if I were stranded on a desert island with only one book, I’d want it to be the Oxford English Dictionary. Given that this is hypothetical, I’d define the entire 20 volumes as one book. Alas, I have only the condensed version at home.
Reasons I Love Dictionaries: Lots of Information
The joy of big, encyclopedic dictionaries such as the OED and the Dictionary of American Regional English—dictionaries too big to fit in one volume—is that they give you so much information: multiple meanings, pronunciation, origin(s), where and when it was used. They give you archaic words and highly specialized ones. Often they include examples of the usage, past and/or present. Altogether good reads.
Reasons I Love Dictionaries: Specialized Topics
At the other end of the spectrum are dictionaries that cover very narrow or specialized topics, such as a medical dictionary, or dictionaries devoted to lust, wrath, body parts, or texting.
Reasons I Love Dictionaries: Passions
There are dictionaries that help one follow one’s passions. Everyone knows about cross-word puzzle dictionaries. Rhyming dictionaries fall into this category as well.
Reasons I Love Dictionaries: Subcultures
I own several dictionaries acquired for writing authentically about specific subcultures.
Reasons I Love Dictionaries: Time Periods
Some cover only certain regions of the country or time periods.
Reasons I Love Dictionaries: Regions
Not all English is created equal. You might remember the line sung by Professor Higgins in My Fair Lady:
There even are places where English completely disappears. Why, in America, they haven’t used it for years!
So it’s no surprise that there are various versions of the Oxford English Dictionary, including the Oxford Dictionary of American English. Given the breadth of the British Empire, it’s no wonder that there are dictionaries such as this one.
Reasons I Love Dictionaries: Age & Decade
As a writer, some specialized dictionaries are helpful, for example, when writing about children or when wanting to use slang appropriate to the age or year.
Reasons I Love Dictionaries: What’s That Word Again?
There are even dictionaries for people who know what they are looking for but don’t know the word for it!
Reasons I Love Dictionaries: Foreign Words in English Usage
I enjoy The Browsers Dictionary of Foreign Words and Phrases. For one thing, it points out words that are in such common use that one forgets they are foreign! Words like operetta and wanderlust.
Reasons I Love Dictionaries: Slang
But my all-time favorites for fun reading are the books of slang. They are full of colorful and often funny usages, and they come in both specialized and generalized forms.
Tip for Writers
Open any dictionary at random, close your eyes, put your finger on a word, and write it down. Repeat 3-5 times. Write a sentence, paragraph, scene, or story that uses all of those words appropriately.
Takeaway for Writers and Readers
Find your perfect dictionary and enjoy a good read!
I’m one of the legions of TV watchers addicted to Call The Midwife. It’s gritty and real. In spite of the historical context, it deals with issues important today, issues of women’s health and the monumental role of childbearing in women’s lives.
The Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times by Jennifer Worth
But even being a big fan, I was unaware that the series grew out of Jennifer Worth’s book, Call The Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times, until I read this week’s issue of The New Yorker.
“Crowning Glory: The sneaky radicalism of Call the Midwife” by Emily Nussbaum
Nussbaum wrote succinctly and powerfully about the TV series. She called the bloody, gory images set against a backdrop of tender, socially conscious humanism a “metonym” for the series. Every episode delves into “female reproductive experience. . . politicizing matters more often left personal, and vice versa.” For me, one of the most powerful things Nussbaum said was, “It treats invisible women—old women, poor women, homely mums—as rich wells of drama.” This is the sort of thing readers hunger for and writers should seek to exploit in their stories.
I haven’t read Jennifer Worth’s book, but I intend to. Having spawned this captivating series, it’s likely to be the best kind of memoir—a true story as gripping as well-written fiction.
If your plot involves any sort of violent crime, whether you’re a mystery/crime writer or not, you should know forensic nursing. In broad terms, forensic nursing is where the healthcare system and the legal system intersect.
Survivors of violent crimes typically come through the ER, where their medical needs are taken care of—setting broken bones, stitching wounds, etc. Ideally, the patient spends as little time as possible in the controlled chaos and tension of the ER; the goal is no more than 45 minutes.
Then they are escorted to a quiet, comfortable room furnished much like a small living room, but with drinks and snacks as well as TV. Anyone accompanying the patient would typically wait here during the examination. The area is secured, and only people the patient chooses to bring are allowed into the room. These people might be family or, perhaps, a trained volunteer from an organization such as Hanover Safe Place, which supports survivors through what is inevitably a traumatic time at the hospital.
The patient then meets with a forensic nurse. The forensic nurse’s role is to record the details of the crime and collect physical evidence. This process typically takes 3 to 4 hours.
Victim physical evidence recovery kit
Suspect physical evidence recovery kit
Forensic Nurses’ Work
Background information comes first, including general medical history as well as questions about any injuries, surgeries, diagnostic procedures, or medical treatments that might affect the physical finding. But then come pages of more detailed and focused questions. For example, in cases of sexual assault, not only question about the assault itself and perpetrator(s) but also about the date, time, type, partner’s race, and relationship of last consensual intercourse; and since the assault, whether the patient bathed or showered, douched, brushed teeth, defecated, urinated, vomited, wiped or washed affected area, changed clothes, or had consensual intercourse.
For strangulation cases, they ask how the patient was strangled—one-handed, two-handed, knee, forearm, ligature—how long it lasted, and whether there was more than one incident.
Forms to be completed by forensic nurses and patients
A danger assessment is conducted as well, focusing on whether the violence is escalating in severity or frequency, whether weapons (especially guns) are available and/or used, drug or alcohol use, presence of children, and control of the survivor’s daily activities and social interactions.
Exam room
The Physical Exam
Although the verbal data are crucial, the physical exam is central to forensic nursing. Samples of blood, urine, hair, and swabs of orifices are taken. Specialized equipment is available. Photographs are taken. Hair is combed, nails cleaned and clipped. The patient stands on a plastic sheet to remove clothing, to catch any random debris.
Chain of custody box, clothes, and a child’s toy
Chain of custody must be carefully controlled and documented.
Children have special treatment as well. They are given a toy that they can keep. They’re also given tablets and pencils or markers to draw pictures that can help in understanding the assault. Sometimes an outline of a person is presented for the child to mark where he or she was touched or hurt.
Pillow cases, coloring books, and crayons for children
A toy for young survivors
Improving Forensic Nursing and the Patient’s Experience
Improvements and refinements are always in progress. Once upon a time, a survivor might be asked to detail the crime by a dozen different people. Now recounting the crime waits for the forensic nurse, diminishing the impact of reliving it.
Underwear that had been given to all survivors
When a patient’s clothes are taken in evidence, they are given generic going-home clothes. These are grey sweatpants, t-shirt, and—until recently—the granny panties pictured above, one size for all. A college student survivor said that having to wear those granny panties made her feel violated all over again.
Survivors can now choose panties to wear home
She organized her sorority sisters to provide hundreds of pairs of new panties in varied colors, styles, and sizes. All of the clothing provided to survivors is donated. Should you or your group want to donate new clothes, new toys, child pillowcases, gas cards, food cards—or money!—here’s your contact. And, by the way, she gives talks about the program.
Senior Development Officer, Bon Secours Richmond Health Care
History of Forensic Nursing
Forensic nursing is a relatively new medical specialty. In 1992, 72 registered nurses—mostly sexual assault nurse examiners—came together to form the International Association of Forensic Nurses. Since 1993, Bon Secours Forensic Nursing in Richmond has served survivors of sexual assault, child sexual abuse, and domestic violence. Now a team of 10 full-time nurses work with 26 agencies to serve survivors of any type of violent crime.
Bon Secours is atypical. There are over 300 hospitals in Virginia, and many of them have no full-time forensic nurses. Therefore, patients from all over central Virginia can end up at Bon Secours. They assist more than 2,200 patients per year.
Additional Facts For Writers
Forensic nurses have from one to three certifications beyond the RN degree, which are essential for presenting expert testimony.
Approximately 9% of patients are male.
Patients are 50/50 adults and children.
In descending order, the busiest days for forensic nurses are Monday, Friday, Wednesday, and Sunday.
Rush hour starts at 11:00 a.m.; the slowest times are 2:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m.
Most forensic nurses are recruited from ER nurses, but they need to be “softened up” on the job, not to rush.
Patients can choose 1) medical treatment only, 2) anonymous evidence collection, or 3) identified evidence collection.
Evidence that must be refrigerated cannot be anonymous; other evidence can be made identifiable later.
Although immediate evidence collection is best, kits can be collected up to 5 days after the fact.
All patient info is secured in the Forensic Nursing Department; it isn’t part of general medical data bank.
Part-time, floating forensic nurses tend to burn out after a couple of years.
Perhaps surprisingly, most long-term forensic nurses are married to police officers, firefighters, or EMTs.
Bon Secours is a premier forensic nursing program. For the sake of your story line, you might create more conflict in the story if the characters botch the process. A screw-up could taint evidence or miss it. Insensitive treatment could leave the survivor among the walking wounded.
Support Forensic Nursing
Last but not least, put this worthwhile event on your calendar!
Is there anyone out there who doesn’t know that Hillary Clinton is the presumptive Democratic Party nominee for president? Or that she is the first woman to run for president on a major ticket? Her achievement reminds us all that women have long been making history. Some of you will remember that I mentioned Victoria Claflin Woodhull, the Equal Rights Party candidate in 1872. She was a fascinating woman—a stockbroker and publisher as well as a suffragist.
TO ALL THE READERS OUT THERE
Find out about other amazing first women. Lots of them are listed in references such as this.
Famous First Facts
Lady Astor (birth name Nancy Witcher Langborne), the first American-born woman to become a member of Parliament in Great Britain in 1919.
By Bain News Service (Library of Congress) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the first woman to appear as a congressional hearing witness in 1869. She was trying to keep the women of DC from being debarred from voting.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, c. 1880, [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Sally Stearns, the first woman coxswain of a men’s collegiate varsity team, 1936.
Nan Jane Aspinwall, the first woman horseback rider to make a solo transcontinental trip from SanFrancisco to New York City, 1910.
Susanna Medora Salter, the first woman mayor, elected in Argonia, Kansas, 1887.
By Unknown photographer (Kansas Historical Society) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Belle Martell, the first woman licensed to be a prize fight referee, 1940.
Nellie Tayloe Ross, Director of the Mint, the first woman to have her name on the cornerstone of a US government building, 1936.
Nellie Tayloe Ross (1876-1977), Wyoming Governor, 1924-1926. Wyoming State Archives, photo published 1922 [Public domain]
Sybilla Masters, the first woman to obtain a patent—for a machine for cutting and cleaning Indian corn, 1715.
And many others, in books such as this.
Robertson’s Book of Firsts: Who Did What for the First Time
Alternatively, one could go to any field of interest—from playwright to astronaut—and find the first woman in those fields.
FOR THE WRITERS OUT THERE
Consider these pioneers as inspiration. What sort of character does it take to be a first? What might daily life be like for the first woman licensed as an electrical engineer? What price might such a woman pay in terms of family or love relationships? And ultimately, is it a story of triumph or tragedy?
Please share other first women in the comments or on social media. Please tag me on Facebook and Twitter to continue the celebration of first women.
