Attend the Women's Action and Media Conference (WAM 2009) this year!

Last time I spoke about a wonderful women’s author, “Shelly Rachanow,” now she has a companion book out, in beautiful baby blue entitled, “What Would You Do if You Ran the World?” The book is full of “everyday ideas from women who want to Make the World a Better Place…”

The remarkable thing about Shelly was that she emailed me and sent me a signed copy of her new book as a gift! She would not accept payment from me. So, I read her new book cover-to-cover and it was good, really good.

Lists of things women can do for themselves, to pamper themselves. Quotes from really famous people like,” Oprah Winfrey, ”...Devote today to something so daring even you can’t believe your doing it…” Goldie Hawn, Rachel Carson and many more.

One of my favorite inspirational stories in Shelly’s new book is about,”...Patsy Mink, who was born in Maui in 1927…denied admission to twenty medical schools, why because she lacked a “Y” chromosome…she decided that the schools that denied her admission would not have the last word…so she became a lawyer and graduated from the University of Chicago Law School in 1951 and became the first woman of Japanese heritage to practice law in Hawaii. Just one of her greatest achievements did for herself and for women was the drafting of Title IX, which was enacted on June 23, 1972, and which mandated equal support for males and females in academics and athletics on any instruction receiving federal money.

Title IX allowed schools to allow preventing women from becoming doctors or joining a men’s sports team (that does not have a girl’s sport team. They must allow young girls who want to join the boy’s team and visa versa.) As shelly says, “speak out and stand on your own!” More exceptional stories, quotes and good stuff can be found in her book available from www.amazon.com

One day in a book store I found this book, “If Women Ran the World Sh_t Would Get Done.” President Bush was still in office and as I scanned the pages I was thinking maybe if we had a woman in the Presidential Office, she would “get things done!” I believe I read this book cover-to-cover, once, twice, three times. Being a self proclaimed “pro feminist male, I thought this would be a perfect book for our Code Pinks Boston Book Club.

It’s very “purse size,” it has only 151 pages, it’s a lovely shade of light pink which I love, and it makes you think with lovely exercises that woman can fill out and dream about. Plus, as author Shelly Rachanow states on the front cover: It’ celebrates all the wonderful, amazing, stupendous, inspiring, butt-kicking things woman do…” And the woman does these things and follow through with them.

After I read the book, I emailed Shelly and just praised her book, ”...doing for our families, nurture, protect and heal…”
Not only did Shelly email me back, she joined our Code Pinks Meet-up group, and she even sent me a signed copy of her book. She didn’t have to do that but, she did. I find Shelly to be an extraordinary and amazing woman. Her book can be found on:www.amazon.com

I remember one Bill Cosby episode where both Bill and his wife was sick in bed and their kids were arguing about how they were taking care of their parents. Who got up sick in bed? Not Bill, it was his wife and she said, “from this point on, I am declaring myself, “well” and it’s the only way I can handle the household without our kids tearing up the place.” She was getting things done!

You won’t find the “Bill Cosby show” in Shelly’s book, instead you will find a story about Patricia Schroeder, ”...who was first elected to (the US) Congress in 1972, and she served twelve consecutive terms as a Representative from Colorado before she retired from Congress in 1996!...”A mother of two children at the time she was first elected, she was committed to “making things better for all women.” As shelly stated on page 40 of her book in bullet form what Patricia Schroeder did was,”...Wrote the Family and Medical Leave Act in 1993 Introduced the Military Family Act which was passed in 1985; Chaired the Select Committee on Children, Youth and Families and Co-chaired the Congressional Congress on Women’s Issue. She was elected to the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1995 due in part to her “unblinking commitment to represent the interests of women and their families at the highest levels of government…” ”...Thanks to her efforts, life is easier for millions of civilian wives and moms living today, check out www.greatwomen.org

Here’s one of my favorite parts of Shelly’s book,”...It’s hard to believe that in this day and age, not all women are free to call or see their girlfriends, let alone talk freely when they are given the chance to be with other women…If women ran the world, no husband, father, brother, or government law or agency would ever have power, permission or the legal right to control what a woman thinks or her freedom to share her thoughts with other women…” ‘Chocolate and ice cream therapy time with girlfriends would be an inalienable right listed in every constitution…”

There’s so much more in Shelly Rachanow’s book and would be a great “pass her book around” at a party or better yet, order additional copies and have your guests fill out their own copies, you won’t be sorry if you do. Peace.

Here’s an easier way to do it and still buy the stuff you want to buy from www.amazon.com

First go to the www.NOW.org web-site

Second click on the menu bar for Shop and scroll down to amazon.com store

Third on the right hand side there will be a amazon shopping box with a pull down menu. The upper box you can make your selection from “All Products” to “Wireless Accessories” listed alphabetically. Let’s try “books” for example.

Fourth under the menu is a place for “Key Word” let’s type in “Shelly Rachanow” and click “go!”

Your automatically sent to the www.amazon.com web-site and anything you purchase or order, a portion of your sale goes to help the National Organization of Women.” What a great way to buy stuff you may need and still contribute to women’s causes. Now, don’t you feel better? Sure you do!

One of the many books I enjoyed reading this season (and was highly recommended for purchase) for this year’s WAM 2009 Conference is Rachel Kauder Nalebuff The Editor of her first book, “My Little Red Book.” I am hoping to meet her and have her sign my copy of her remarkable book. The young and very talented Editor, poet and writer does a fantastic job explaining her book.

During an interview from the New Yorker Rachel talks about one of her amazing stories, ”...There is a story from a Kenyan high-school classmate of mine that opened my eyes. I learned from her that in rural Kenya (and most parts of the developing world) girls don’t have access to the sanitary supplies. As a result, they stay home from school during their periods. It’s a serious problem that most of us don’t know about. Her story so surprised me that I decided to use “My Little Red Book” to raise awareness and funds to help solve this problem. All the royalties are being donated to support women’s health and education organizations…”

Rachel edited, collected stories and presented them in a informative and humorous manner that I love. You have to buy her book and read the many stories of a young teenage girl’s first menstrual period. As Rachel mentions in the video, ”...the book is for establishing a dialogue within teenage girls, that they are not alone, it’s also for mothers, confused dad’s, but mostly for teenage girl’s on what they can expect when they receive their first period.”

Why doesn’t this subject not talked about? It’s a act of nature among girls as early as eleven and under. The stories are humorous, truthful, amazing, charming, creative, and awesome to read. I loved how the teenage girls bonded together, even sharing their stash of tampons to help one another out, consoling their friends with hugs and tears.

”...One of the remarkable stories in the book, (and they were many) was about a young girl not yet a teenager, who thought a “period” was part of a sentence structure…thought she was dying, thinking her friends and family might be upset, removed her blood soaked clothes and burned them for eleven days to spare her parents the pain of her dying…”.

Her book is available from the WAM 2009 Conference held at MIT. If you cannot attend the conference, the book is available from www.amazon.com

author of two books. At the CNW’s “Feminism and Desert” Workshop for March 2009, Ms. Joyce Angela Jellison whose daily writings can be found at Frog Buddha Po-et-Tree

and you won’t want to miss her presenting with Letta Nelly on a workshop on “black women and self publishing as a means to diversify the media landscape (WAM 2009 Saturday March 28, 2009; 2:00-3:30 PM Session, “Run Go Tell Dis: writing and self-publishing our stories…Joyce Angela Jellison and Letta Neely presenters)

At CNW Ms. Jellison gave a informative and lively talk that had the members in the audience laughing off their seats. Beautiful in spirit and very intelligent, she knows her stuff. “Why wait for Random House to call? My book is out there now…” Her beautiful young daughter Stormi Maya Jellison did the awesome graphic deign for Ms. Jellison’s book, “Black Apple” She is also the author of “Where Everything Fits Beautifully” and lives in the Boston area while working on her next book and teaches workshops on self publishing and writing skills.

Center of New Words (CNW) holding a awesome three day Women’s Action and Media conference at MIT’s Strata Center. It’s a feminist and pro-feminist males delight. I love the bonding and women’s community workshops they have there. Marketed mostly for women authors, web bloggers, motivational speakers, the conference is co-ed with a large majority of women who attend the workshops.

Nevertheless, I always leave after the conference a more “well rounded person.” I learn allot about myself and the people I meet and share stories with. It’s beautifully presented and the staff and volunteers of the WAM 2009 plan this event a year in advance. To Register and More info