A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of talking with Veronica Dagher, a journalist at The Wall Street Journal, for her podcast. (You can download or stream it on iTunes and Apple Podcasts.) She did her research well, asking me about the best piece of advice my grandmother ever gave me, my first job as a teacher at the University of Georgia, and what it was like to move to New York City as a single mother in the 1960s. Many of these stories and lessons learned were the motivations for my decision to write the memoir that friends had urged for years. It’s taken me years to complete the manuscript and along the way, I discovered that what made writing the book—and what makes talking with young women like Veronica—important is that in sharing our stories, especially woman to woman, we do sometimes light the way forward for others, maybe strengthen their resolve or support their ambitions or empower their purpose.

In the case of this podcast, I must admit I was surprised to be included given it’s title. But I do consider myself wealthy in friends, family and life experiences, and in having the time and the opportunity to support the causes I care passionately about, such as ending violence against women and girls through the VDAY movement and improving the representation of women’s voice and stories across all media platforms. That’s the work of the Women’s Media Center whose awards to women leading the changes in media we will celebrate on Nov. 1. And that was the work that prompted my invitation to be interviewed. Thanks to Veronica for the opportunity to talk about that and much else.

Onward,

— Pat