The First National Woman's Rights Convention was held in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1850. It was the first nationwide call to action and it was attended by men and women from throughout the country and from abroad who addressed the increasing demands for the rights of women. The Worcester Women's History Project was created to celebrate the 150th anniversary of this historic event and in 2005 the Worcester Women's Oral History Project developed from a desire to continue to document the lives of today's women for tomorrow's historians. In Her Shoes contains excerpts from the stories of women from different generations, ethnicities, religions, and socioeconomic backgrounds who participated in the first decade of the Oral History Project. The universal themes of striving for work/life balance, commitment to a personal cause, and finding one's path in life despite obstacles big and small, arise as the women's lives are revealed. It is through the sharing of women's stories that we come to appreciate, that despite our differences, there are often common threads that unite all women. Whether reading about the life of a baker, an actress, a mother, an entrepreneur, or a funeral director, we come to respect each woman's experience and the choices she makes. And, perhaps, we achieve a better understanding of life in her shoes.
About the Author: Maureen Ryan Doyle has worked as a freelance writer for many years and is also the owner of a small property management company in Central Massachusetts. She was the winner of Good Housekeeping Magazine's New Traditionalist writing competition. Maureen earned her BA degree in history from Assumption College where she was a member of the first undergraduate class of women. She received the Outstanding Alumnus/Alumna Award from Assumption in 2013. She has pursued graduate study at Emerson College in Boston and Oglethorpe University in Atlanta. She and her husband, Francis X. Doyle, reside in Holden, MA. Their family includes their daughter, Maryssa, and son and daughter-in-law Colin and Dani Doyle. Charlene L. Martin, EdD has 35 years of experience in higher education. She is the former dean of Continuing Education at Assumption College and the founding director of the Worcester Institute for Senior Education known as WISE. She earned her BA and MA from Assumption College and a doctorate in educational policy, research, and administration with a specialty in higher education from the University of Massachusetts/Amherst. She was an adjunct professor teaching higher education on the doctoral level and her research and publications focus on educational opportunities for older adults in retirement. She and her husband, Jim Martin, live in Shrewsbury, MA.