I'm reading a terrific book which I found at the Trinity library.  It's called Hearts of Fire: Great Women of American Lore and Legend, by Kemp Battle.  It's a book containing 100's of tales about and by women.  The sections are titled:

The Hearth

   Birth

   Family Life

   Education

   Courtship

   Marriage

A New Order Arising

   Frontier Journeys

   Breaking the Barriers

   Bad Girls

   Women and War
   Women of Faith, Women of Fire

It is a terrific compilation of writing about strong and powerful women and how they have lived over the centuries in America.  It addresses the legal and societal inequalities between men and women as well as the back-breaking work women have done throughout history to keep society functioning. 

Over the next few days I'll include some passages from the book which I have found particularly compelling.

As I read the book, I feel extremely grateful to the women who have come before me and made my life as I live it possible.  It also makes me feel empowered to continue to fight for rights where I see them lacking, for women, for minorities, for immigrants, etc.  These women feel like my forebearers, and the world is certainly a better place for their having been alive.