Mommy The Journalist: February 2017

February has been a busy month, but I did manage to read two books. Both would be considered historical fiction/romance, and I found myself totally immersed in both and had to make myself stop reading in order to get a good night's sleep. In the case of the second book, I actually dreamed about it and had what us bookworms like to call a book hangover once I finished it. Keep reading for my reviews.

From a Paris Balcony is the story of Sarah West, a curator for a Boston art museum, as she tries to get her life back on track in the wake of her parents' deaths and her divorce. Sarah decides to go to Paris to uncover the truth about her ancestor, Louisa's death. The book switches between present day and the mid-1890s, and is told from the perspective of both Sarah and Louisa, whose lives seem to parallel each other at least romantically. In the end, Sarah does learn the truth about Louisa's death and finds herself in a new relationship with artist, Laurent Chartier. I was left wanting more in terms of that relationship and felt like the book ended too soon in that regard, but otherwise I highly recommend.

Historic romance is probably my favorite genre, and The Memory of Us is one of the best books I've read in that genre in a long time. This is a love story if ever there was one. Julianne Westcott and Kyle McCarthy meet while Julianne is secretly visiting her twin brother who's been institutionalized since birth. They fall in love but think they can't be together because Kyle is studying to be a Catholic priest, but when Kyle's father falls deathly ill and Julianne nurses him until he dies, Kyle realizes he's meant to be with her. There's just one problem: Julianne's family disapproves of their relationship. They get married in secret and start a life together but war and a terrible accident rips them apart. Twenty years later, they're reunited. In her debut novel, Camille Di Maio beautifully blends memory with present day. I had to make myself put this one down to sleep and found myself counting down the hours until work ended and I would get to pick it back up. It's that good. Seriously. If you haven't added it to your reading list, you should.

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A letter to my daughter about feminism:

I hope one day these words I've written will no longer apply, but until then I hope to instill in you these important, fundamental beliefs.

To be female is to be feminist, even though many women will adamantly say that they are not a feminist. To them I say being a female but not be a feminist is ignorant. It's like saying, "I'm a woman and I don't want to be on an equal playing field as men."

It is equally as ignorant to say that women have the same rights as men in this country. While that may be technically true -women can vote, own their own business, and run for office after all - women and men are not on equal ground when it comes to almost anything. Women make on average 75% of what a man makes doing the same job; only 25 companies in the Fortune 500 are run by women, which is an improvement from 20 years ago when that number was zero; and only 105 of the 535 members of the 114th Congress are women.

Just because you, personally, don't feel oppressed as a woman, doesn't mean that inequality doesn't exist for hundreds, thousands, even millions of women elsewhere. I, personally, have not felt oppressed as a woman, but then again I haven't been denied a job or promotion based on my gender; and I haven't been personally affected by movements to limit access to birth control or the right to get an abortion. But growing up I did feel that oppression when my grandparents let my brother and male cousin go outside to play but I was expected to stay inside and do housework with my grandmother all because I was a girl. It's actions like those that cause little girls to think of themselves differently and to believe that they can only do "girly" things, but let me tell you something, baby girl. Just because men and women use the bathroom differently doesn't mean they should be treated differently.

Just because you weren't born with a penis doesn't mean you are any less capable. In fact, you are just as capable as any man in whatever you set your mind to. Maybe more so. But it is important that you understand how much harder you may have to work to achieve the same levels of success that men do.

It's also important that you understand the emphasis other people will put on the way you look. But whether you choose to dress up or down or a combination of both, make sure you're dressing in a way that you like. And while the way you dress, fix your hair and do your makeup (if you so choose to wear it) will make a big difference in how you're treated, don't you ever let someone convince you that the way you dress or fix your hair or do your makeup could ever be the reason why a man makes unwanted sexual advances on you.

Lastly, but perhaps most importantly - you don't have to be a hardcore, man-hating member of a women's march to be feminist. It's enough to simply believe that women deserve to be afforded the same opportunities and successes as their male counterparts.