By applying a historian's skills to her own life, she used her personal narrative as the framework for a larger cultural history. Conway's underlying theme in the new book is the development of voice and agency, and her particular strength is women's memoir. Even women who were great strategists or managers hide those skills in the more culturally acceptable relationships to husband or family. We all practice the craft of autobiography, Conway writes, in conversations with ourselves. Memoir as a form has moved beyond traditional topics of worldly success, spiritual growth, and the exercise of power, and has embraced ordinary people writing about identity, relationships with parents, ethnic struggles, and gender conflicts.
New times require new stories.
I recommend this original and splendidly written book to anyone who reads memoirs. It will change how you think about your life. Personal history matters. She is at work on a memoir.