There's a lot to like about this book; firstly, it's a clear labor of love, and many people have worked to make it what it is. It also gives great and personal insight into Agnes, who was unmistakably way ahead of her time in terms of her thoughts and actions; and many of Agnes's thoughts and still relevant today. Maybe even more so!
- ScriptAcuity Studios, Dog Ear editors
Some people are defined by their times, and others redefine them. Agnes Edwards Partin was among the latter. Through Agnes's letters spanning the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, World War II, and beyond, readers will discover firsthand accounts of the changing face of Los Angeles, from its modest roots to its postwar expansion. During her years in California, Agnes stepped away from the home, defying the traditions of her day, to seek employment and education--ever eyeing her goal of earning a doctorate. Alongside her husband, Leo, whose ideas were as progressive as Agnes's, the Partin family faced numerous challenges and heartbreaks during the changing eras, but also many joys and accomplishments.
Rising to the Challenge in Los Angeles: The Letters of Agnes Edwards Partin, 1926-1956 is the chronicle of a woman far ahead of her time, standing up against the societal expectations of gender. Her views, her thoughts, and her lessons are still as relevant today as when they were written decades ago.
Grace E. Moremen's writing career began in 1972 when she was thirty-two. Just as a white rabbit led Lewis Carroll on a merry chase and launched Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, so the amusing antics of a white rabbit named Natalie inspired Grace's first book, No, No, Natalie.
Other books followed in fits and starts as time and circumstances permitted: Adolphus Frederick Duke of Cambridge, 1774-1850; Student Life at the University of California, Berkeley, During and After World War I, 1917- 1921; Boston Glass Ceiling, 1922-1925; and Rising to the Challenge in Los Angeles, 1926-1956; and, with coauthor Jacqueline Chase, Loving LA the Low Carbon Way: 24 Adventures in the City of the Angels via Public Transportation.
Grace earned a BA in international relations from Pomona College (1952), an MA in religion and art from the University of Chicago Divinity School (1956), and an MA in British history from the University of California-Berkeley (1986). Grace taught English as a second language in the Los Angeles School District and worked as a secretary in a variety of places, including the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. Grace and her husband Bill retired to Claremont, California, where they enjoy the sport of race-walking.
