The Wisdom Trail: In the Footsteps of Remarkable Women

An invitation to eavesdrop on a remarkable group of women who in their eighth and ninth decades reflect with candor and insight on the common threads in their well-lived lives

The Wisdom Trail follows the life trajectories of extraordinary women, now in their seventies and eighties, who share to a remarkable extent a set of qualities that produced their successful lives. The vital women whose voices are captured in this book look back with well-earned perspective on the crises and opportunities, the decisions and accidents that marked their varied but ultimately satisfying paths.

In listening to the lively and candid recollections of these women, Janet Lieberman and Julie Hungar offer stories that have value for women and men alike. From the heyday of Good HousekeepingA-the era of the silent majorityA-to World War II, when the absence of men at home set a new measure of independence for women, through the sexual revolution and the civil rights and womenA's movements, these women have accumulated powerful stories that address the essential facets of womenA's lives: family, work, and love. As Lieberman and Hungar lead readers along The Wisdom Trail, they identify a set of characteristics these women share that has relevance for men and women of all generations, and which make them worth pondering and reflecting on today. Flexible pragmatism gave them the ability to maneuver their way around constraints that at the time appeared insurmountable. Deep personal courage enabled them to leap into risky personal career decisions and face down bias at home and in the workplace. All of them displayed the love and care to form and nourish deeply satisfying relationships. Their capstone quality was a lifetime commitment to serving the community and the world beyond.

The Wisdom Trail is a journey into a world where women share their triumphs and their tragedies with equal parts generosity and instruction. It is also an examination of the arc of American lifeA-from hardship to boon yearsA-and the effect that has had on the character of women and their families. The value of the lessons contained in The Wisdom Trail is perhaps never more useful than it is today as women continue to struggle with balancing work and home and all Americans face the challenge of doing more with less.

Janet Lieberman is a psychologist and award-winning educator. Among the numerous awards she has received for her dedication to creating opportunities for the underserved are the Charles A. Dana Award in Higher Education and the McGraw-Hill Prize in Education. She currently teaches at LaGuardia Community College in New York City.

Julie Hungar is vice chancelor emeritus of the Seattle community colleges. She is a consultant in strategic planning for higher education and is currently engaged in a study of single-sex education in middle schools.