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Rating: 
Summary: A readable, informative book for today's career woman
Review: "Having it all" became the motif of career women of the seventies and eighties. Can women have a successful career and also fulfill what Dr. Kitaj calls "the romance plot," marriage and family? The romance plot was the ideal most women pursued in the early 20th century, leaving to males the adventuresome "quest plot." The women in this book chose the quest and became highly successful despite obstacles encountered in the workplace as well as in their personal lives. The women here are not famous in the usual sense, but all are renowned in their fields. Dr. Kitaj chose 26 women of high achievement in science and the arts. All were over 65 when she began her study, born between 1903 and 1930. They had chosen a career during the years when it was expected that women would stay home and rear children. Although they had established their careers long before the feminist movement of the seventies, they did not consider themselves as groundbreakers. Gender discrimination in the workplace was an issue, but most of the women were not entirely aware that they were experiencing it. As their stories emerge through the interviews and research done by the author, it becomes apparent that each woman used her talents in different ways in varied fields such as research, art, music, education, film, and writing to achieve personal satisfaction and eventual recognition from her peers. Each woman's background is examined, and four are singled out for a more thorough look at their lives. How did parents' attitudes, education, and family background affect these women and their lives? Many were from immigrant families. Fathers played a significant role for many of the women as well as mothers. Some were from intact families, others from broken homes. What about the romance plot? Most of the women chose to marry as well as to have a career. Husbands, both supportive and nonsupportive, also entered into the picture. Many marriages were successful, and l others ended in divorce. A very few of the women never married. A number had successful second marriages. Still others did not remarry and concentrated on their children and careers. Most of the women who married had children, and some who did not regretted having missed the opportunity to rear children. Most seemed satisfied with the way in which they had combined the romance and quest plots in their lives. Students and historians will find here a well-researched study, backed with notes, bibliography, methodology, and a comprehensive index. The sample of 26 is too small for the results to be applied to all women, or even to all prominent women. The author did, however, illuminate how and why these women made sense of their lives. Dr. Kitaj, herself a career counselor as well as a psychotherapist, discusses mentoring at length in her book. She points out that these women can become "paper mentors" to the reader. Women of any age just entering their chosen fields today may find a model to follow here even if they have no mentor in their lives. Can career women today "have it all"? This book describes 26 women who
could. . .and did. . .
Rating: 
Summary: Exploring New Frontiers
Review: I salute your work. Excellent data collection, original organization and artistic prose. This is certainly a life's work of which to be proud. It is a refreshing read about female mentors of which the media supplies very few. It should serve as an inspiration to not only young aspiring females, but to all those with aspirations and dreams. It can be a map to success and your future. Good work and I recommmend it highly.
Rating:
Summary: Exploring New Frontiers
Review: I salute your work. Excellent data collection, original organization and artistic prose. This is certainly a life's work of which to be proud. It is a refreshing read about female mentors of which the media supplies very few. It should serve as an inspiration to not only young aspiring females, but to all those with aspirations and dreams. It can be a map to success and your future. Good work and I recommmend it highly.
Rating:
Summary: Forthcoming review, Dr. Ruth Reports, The Senior Times, 1/03
Review: I want to share some lessons in living from a new book by Karma Kitaj, Ph.D., a psychotherapist who interviewed 26 women born between 1903 and 1930. These 26 women had coping strategies we all could utilize in 2003 and beyond. They took action or organized with others. They never took no for an answer. They followed their own stars. They shifted gears. They epitomized what Dr. Kitaj characterizes as passion, perseverance and power-with-others. They show ways to promote a fulfilling life into old age. In their advanced years many now continue creative pursuits. One of the highlights for me was the photographs, as we do not see positive pictures of older women often enough in the media.
Rating:
Summary: Showcases the lives of 26 great and accomplished women
Review: Karma Kitaj's Women Who Could...And Did showcases the lives of 26 great and accomplished women through illustrative interviews, anecdotes, and vignettes. In these tales of successful lives, readers can find insight on how they too can doggedly pursue a favorite career, blend responsibilities of work and family, and find contentment at an advanced age. A superb collection of role models for women readers of all ages, Women Who Could...And Did is an enthusiastically recommended addition to Women's Studies, Career Development, and Women's Biography supplemental reading lists and academic reference collections.
Rating:
Summary: How a paper mentor can help with life goals
Review: The author, an experienced psychotherapist, started this study of 26 prominent artists and scientists in order to understand the factors that led to their career achievement. However, during the initial phases of her personal interviews she found that the lives of these women were much richer and fuller than her original protocol could manage. She recognized that the life stories of these women could act as "paper mentors" to other women struggling with similar issues, experiences and lack of access to true mentors. Although all the stories are different, the author's analysis helped to identify a number of common factors that these women used to maximize career opportunities, overcome setbacks, seek out mentors, merge family and career goals, and live fully throughout their lives. The book provides many examples in each woman's life as to how they demonstrated each of three key factors that led to their success: passion, perseverance, and power with others. The women interviewed also mentioned obstructions in their lives, including "tormentors", or people who blocked their progress. But their ability to deal with such set-backs or challenges was more often offset by six factors: high energy, focus, obstinacy, ability to let go, trusting self, enjoyment of hard work, feelings of competence, and willingness to take risks. This book, unlike the other top mentoring books listed on our Mentorship website, is not a how-to book about finding a mentor, becoming a mentor, or creating a mentorship program, but it can serve as a source of inspiration, revelation, and encouragement to other women and girls seeking a source for mentorship.
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