Saturday, April 20, 2013

Composing a Life

During the Spirit of Women Dinner at church in February, our speaker, Eleanor Scott Meyers mentioned this book by Mary Catherine Bateson, the daughter of famed anthropologist Margaret Mead. On the cover it says, "Life is a work in progress - the improvisations of five extraordinary women..."

From that description, I thought this book might be how these women crafted their lives from various "materials" into a complete, but unexpected picture. I imaged five chapters, one for each woman with an intriguing look into a creatively-lived life. I was disappointed to find out that this book feels dated (published in 1989) and not nearly as interesting as I had hoped. While I fully understand that women are still having a hard time with the glass ceiling, this book goes on and on about how women have a hard time because they are the primary caregivers in their homes, or have to compromise so much with their spouses, or just because of discrimination against women and minorities. I did not find any insights into these lives that I had hoped. I skimmed the last 1/3 of the book.

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Day 20 - Clutter Cleanse: I found a VHS tape that I know I recorded on, but I have no idea what's on it. If I don't know what I don't have, then I won't miss it when it's gone. Trashed.

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