Deborah Sampson, a true hero of the American Revolutionary War, is the only woman in early American history thought to serve as a soldier without being discovered. Her patriotic zeal leads the young woman to disguise herself as a man, and to enlist as a soldier in Washington's Continental Army. At West Point her officers choose her for membership in an elite corps, The Light Infantrymen. The military action and episodes of Deborah's story are based on real events. After the war, Deborah became the first American woman to set out alone to tour as a speaker for compensation, and the first to receive a full pension as a soldier for serving in the army. The actions she took enabled her to live life by her own lights in a society that appeared hostile to the value of women-for they had no legal rights. Their voices and plight were ignored, except for those whose husbands, or fathers, were more enlightened and compassionate. Deborah's story shows that courage and bravery know no gender, and calls us to empathy, and to a wider vision of the world as we stand in someone else's shoes, if only as reader. Deborah's journey is one in which men, women and children actively participated in the shaping of our nation, and that physical, spiritual and psychological freedoms are the right of both genders. This is a look at the far past, which in many ways is not so different from our modern era. The struggle to individualize and to find a place where one can live and thrive is a challenge all of us have faced, or are facing. Each man, woman and child must find within themselves the courage to stand up, to live a life of integrity with the kind of grit, tenacity and care for others that life requires. Deborah's life is a testament to the difficulties of that challenge and of their resolution-or at the least how to live well in spite of life's often unasked for trials and hardships.
About the Author: Before working twenty years as a licensed psychologist and therapist in private practice in Fort Worth, Marilyn was on the staff of the Fort Worth Child Study Center, and the Center for Behavioral Studies at the University of North Texas. She holds degrees from Purdue, Texas Christian University and a Doctorate from the University of North Texas. During her work as a psychologist Marilyn also served as a consultant to schools, businesses, and corporations. While maintaining her private practice office, she wrote a self-help book, Getting Yourself Together, which was introduced as a CD-ROM at the Chicago Book Expo, and Morals and Manners for the Millennium at the Austin Book Fair. Marilyn is also a prize-winning poet and short story writer having been published in the U.S., Canada and Europe. Her children's book, Paisano Pete: Snake-killer Bird, garnered the Oklahoma Writers' Federation, "Best Juvenile Book of 2003." The author has participated numerous readings and book signings in Texas and her short story, The Parlor, was a finalist in the A.C. and Judy Greene's Salado Living Room Theater. This book, Deborah Sampson, The Girl Who Went to War, was well received by a readers' review panel that passed the book with high marks for both juvenile readers, young adults and adults. The author is a member of Fort Worth Writers, the Fort Worth Poetry Society, the Poetry Society of Texas, the Fort Worth Songwriters Assoc., Tuesday Study Group Trinity Episcopal Church, Who's Who of American Women and Who's Who in America. Marilyn and her husband George have lived in the Fort Worth/Benbrook area for over 50 years. They have two adult children and 2 grandsons.