Journeywoman: Reader Reviews

It’s a great book… Glad to read that you feel you will always be a carpenter…

male carpenter, union executive member

Wonderfully direct, frank, honest, searching – may I steal an excerpt or two for my cnf classes? (Duly reported to Access Copyright, of course.)

male university creative writing instructor

What a wonderful book, powerful and beautifully written. It resonated for me in many ways, from the first A-Frame to camp life (logging and treeplanting for me), to my stints as a labourer/carpenter/builder. I loved all the union and gender politics.

male blue collar worker, now lawyer

I couldn’t put it down. It is so moving. You had me in tears several times, laughing other times. It brought all kinds of my own personal memories and emotions to the fore… Bravo, bravo and mazel tov; this is one of those terrific and necessary books.

female anthropologist, professor

Totally readable, compelling, interesting. The voice is like having you in the room, telling a story. It’s not often that any book grabs me so strongly and keeps me reading.

female artist, writer, editor

I love the book… There’s a sense of new challenges, fresh sawdust, muscles and good food and the wonder of it all – even the jerks have some dimension. It’s great.

female English professor, biographer

I just finished Journeywoman. WOW, WOW, WOW! I don’t know why I’m crying. I so envy and respect that you could silence the doubts in your head and plod on. That part always trips me up even still.

mother, child care worker

My dear, I just finished your memoir and must say how impressed I am with how you handled some of those fellows. I am proud of you and I think the book tells a great story of courage and fortitude as well as forgiveness.

Mary Elizabeth Braid, Kate’s 88-year-old mother

It’s like reading a letter written just to me. Thank you for sharing your “journey” with those of us who didn’t take the risks to the extent you did, who didn’t ask the questions you did, who lived those years a different way but always wondered what if…?

female editor

I finished Journeywoman last night and can’t tell you how much I enjoyed it. Such a fascinating slice of a rich life, such great stories told so well; a real page-turner. I wouldn’t have lasted a week in some of your situations. What a she-woman! What a tender heart.

male singer, musician, composer, choir director

My husband and I bought Journeywoman last week and are fighting each other to read it. Love it – fascinating, funny, touching and compelling.

writer

So inspiring. Beautiful, compelling writing.

writer

I had to put my copy of Journeywoman down to send you this email. I’ve been marking my tools for years with a dab of bright red nail polish. It just tore my head off to read that you had done the same! I can’t even begin to tell you how much I’m enjoying your book. So much so, that I can’t wait to finish it so I can read it again.

female carpenter

Thank you for writing Journeywoman and specifically for encouraging women to work in traditionally men’s work. It’s important that this be encouraged not only for the women, but for the men too. It humanizes the workplace when there are non-men present. Thanks for helping make it happen more.

tradesman

The book demonstrates how, ultimately, patriarchy diminishes us all. Brava!

female writer, English professor