ISSUE 01 / July 2019
FEARLESS
Magazine
Editor In Chief Rose McInerney Art & Creative Director Alex Hilton Advertising advertise@WomanScape.com Writers Rose McInerney, Yara Zgheib, Denise Benson, Alex Hilton, Mona Zhang Subscription Info@WomanScape.com www.WomanScape.com
Editor’s Note “I’m learning to like the sound of my feet walking away from things not meant for me.” Adventure Daze It’s taken years to find the courage to say NO to what I don’t want and YES to the people and experiences that bring me joy. It sounds simple, doesn’t it, until fear and doubt get in the way. Welcome to WS Magazine, a place where artful storytelling shapes our shared journey. Our WS team invites you to harness the power of history and become mapmakers of your own fearless destiny. Let’s be bolder, spirited, daring, and audacious! This debut issue is appropriately called, FEARLESS. Fear kills more dreams than failure ever will. Some of us have spent years running from it instead of to it because we listen to people telling us what to think and who to believe. Even amplified advertising rhetoric gets in the way and encourages us to buy more, feel guilty and shamefully conform. So we do. We weren’t made for this. We deserve better. WS Magazine. WS Magazine examines the impact of inspirational stories in history using a modern lens that helps us to learn from the experiences of unabashed changemakers. We discover our own seeds of happiness and can foster positive change for others in the larger world. This month’s collection of kick-ass stories is all about this - women and men who overcame fear by following their curiosity, testing their limits and exploring the earth. Each shaped their own destiny and purpose. Each month, you can expect artfully, curated stories with updated content; early access to exclusive stories not available online; articles about men building change; collectible WS Art Cards; travel stories and destination escapes; stories around investing and women-led businesses, products and services; WS Cares philanthropy and collaboration; and, Reel News movie reviews. Sometimes the best way forward is back. Seeing the possibilities in others; stories helps us to think big enough to know your story, like you, is a work in progress.
Rose McInerney, WS Founder & CEO
Gratefully inspired,
Rose McInerney Editor in Chief Founder & CEO
© 2019 WomanScape, LLC.
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Table of Contents FEARLESS 24........... Featured Story - Rachel Carson, Where Would We Be Without Her?
MORE FEARLESS STORIES 6.............. Jenny Davis: The Woman Who Took on Antarctica 12........... Arica Hilton: Deep Diving Into Curiosity 36............ Dr. Ken Hedges & The Truth About the Arctic 62............ Anna Akhmatova: The Revolutionary Poet
FINANCE 16........... Art and Investment
WOMEN LED 18........... Artfully Created Java Love Bass Ass coffee, co-Founded by Jodi Dawson & Kristine Ellis-Petrik 22........... Entrepreneur Kuel Life founder and CEO, Jacqueline Perez and one of her all-star products, Java Love’s Badass Coffee
THE ART OF TRAVEL 30........... Peggy Guggenheim, A Scandalous Modern Woman
AN INTERVIEW
44........... Fiona Davis on the July 30th release of her latest book, The Chelsea Girls
REEL TALK 48........... The “Refreshingly Broken Women” of Dead To Me
WS RECIPE 50........... BioSteel “Women of Steel” Popsicles – Fearlessly good!
WS CARES 52 ...........About what we do 54 ...........Letters from the Arctic
CONTACT US 68 ...........To advertise or share our artfully designed stories & content
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WE ARE CHANGING THE WORLD THROUGH POWERFUL STORY-TELLING. www.WomanScape.com July 2019 / Issue 01 / WS Magazine 5
Jenny Davis: The Woman Who Took on Antarctica By: Yara Zgheib
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The greatest challenge she would face, however, that life-altering moment, did not arise on a mountaintop, but in a hospital bed. In 2015, Jenny was diagnosed with a large benign tumor in her abdomen, which led to a painful course of treatment, surgery, and a long recovery period. “[…] being confined to a hospital bed and the months of recovery that followed are the toughest months I’ve faced. Not being able to exercise or even take long walks was incredibly difficult for me.” But Jenny was not a quitter. She saw an opportunity: using hospital Wi-Fi, she filled an application for the toughest race in the world: The Marathon des Sables, a 155.3-mile race through the Sahara desert under grueling conditions. That would be her test of resilience, her reason to get out of bed.
THE JOURNEY BEGAN ON THE 6TH OF DECEMBER 2018
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solo, unsupported, and unassisted adventure, on her feet and on her skis, from the Antarctic coast to the South Pole. Jenny Davis was ready. Ahead of her, 715 miles she planned to cover in less than 38 days, 23 hours and 5 minutes, in order to break a Guinness World Record set by a previous explorer. On the sled she would pull, over 170 pounds heavy, she had clothes, food, water, a tent, a sleeping bag, backup gear, first aid supplies; all that she would need, she hoped, to survive the multiweek polar trek. But this story began far before: Jenny was never an athlete, though she and her family always loved sports and adventure. Her childhood was spent scouring rainforests; swimming; playing basketball, netball, and cricket; reading about female explorers. “There’s some insatiable interest within me to explore. To not only physically explore, but mentally explore where my own capabilities lie.” That urge, that readiness to go, would surface on weekends and at random moments. Midweek she was a London based corporate lawyer. After hours, she camped and surfed along the West Coast of Scotland, cycled, ran half marathons and triathlons, and in 2009 climbed Mount Kilimanjaro on an unsupported expedition.
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No matter what you’re going through, no matter what it is, it too will pass.
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Training for that race brought Jenny back to health. Not only did she complete it, but was the 16th female to cross the finish line 5 days and 50 degrees later. After that, her path was clear. She quit her job in pursuit of the next adventure: a 143-mile run through Arctic Sweden. From boiling temperatures to frozen fields, mountains, and lakes, and she did it. Then on to the Iran Silk Road Ultramarathon, where she not only took part in the first race in 38 years allowing women to compete with men, but was the first female to cross that finish line 155.3 miles in the Dasht-e-Lut Desert. Other adventures followed, but the most important were those she undertook off the trail; her exploits were inspiring women, she also wanted to empower them. She became an ambassador for a charity called Free to Run, whose objective is to boost female participation in sport. With them, she launched the first female running club in Iran. She also set up the first Women’s International Team for the Marathon des Sables, as well as an organization called All Out Law to provide legal counsel to race organizations. Her business, Kit Jam, helps athletes find the kits that match their specific needs for their races. Last, as an ambassador for Women in Sport and the BBC’s Children in Need.
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“Yo u ju s t ca n’ t g i ve u p” She raises funds to increase the participation of women and children in sport and outdoor experiences in and beyond the UK. Jenny’s message is one of exploration and adventure, but most importantly, one of resilience: “Never, ever, ever give up.” “No matter what you’re going through, no matter what it is, it too will pass. You just can’t give up. If you do that then only positives can come from the end outcome as you know you gave it your all.” Jenny’s journey through the Antarctic was brought to an abrupt halt nineteen days in, when a combination of extreme weather conditions and nausea and stomach pains caused her to be airlifted to Chile, where she was hospitalized. “Even when it became clear that I wouldn’t make it, with yet more snow and bad weather on the way, I couldn’t just stop. I couldn’t give up simply because I’d no longer reach the Pole or achieve a new speed record. The idea of quitting was even harder to stomach than carrying on.” She did not quit. You did not quit, Jenny. Antarctica is waiting, and both it and you know you will return to it when, mentally and physically, you are ready. In the meantime, now out of hospital, Jenny is training for the five day Volcano Ultramarathon running race in Costa Rica! Follow Jenny on her adventures by visiting JennyDavis.co.uk.
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Photo Credits: JennyDavis.co.uk
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There’s mo re to l i fe than b ei n g a p a s s e n ge r. Amelia Earhardt
July 2019 / Issue 01 / WS Magazine www.WomanScape.com
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Arica Hilton: Deep Diving Into Curiosity By: Rose McInerney Our oceans remain one of the great mysteries of the world. Their deep reservoirs and centuries of artistry and stories have been shaped by seafaring writers, poets, and painters in their continued exploration of truth.
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orks of art illuminate both our human condition and the unexpected discoveries found in these ever-changing waters.
Artists like Ernest Hemingway come to mind with tales of redemption and understanding. The Old Man and the Sea is one of Hemingway’s most celebrated works and a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about man’s struggle with nature and his mortality. But what of seafaring women like Arica Hilton who are deep water divers and intrepid explorers? Arica is a luminist who, like Hemingway, sees the world as an adventure in the making. Arica will tell you life is something we create; it doesn’t just happen. When we first met Arica on WomanScape in Artists Who Light Up the Sky, we visited her series of paintings on earthly cosmos and our communion with nature. It stretches the boundaries of our imagination and invites us to reframe our perspective in works like her “American Icon” and the “Universe, Life Unlimited.” Arica and Ernest speak to a growing ethical imperative that focuses on the value of nature and that internal voice in each of us that asks big questions about our relationship to each other and the ways in which we honor the world. In part, this explains why Arica has amassed an enviable list of art collectors that flock to her work. Her series “I Flow Like Water” speaks to these fundamental questions about nature. One of her pieces hung above a Monet painting in the Union League Club of Chicago this past summer as a sister companion to Monet’s light-filled waterlilies.
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In another later series, Arica’s “Multiverse” series speaks to the need for repurposing plastics. Arica reframes their use in beautiful ways, using clear paint and plastic canvases that shimmer in the sunlight and dance in the wind. Last spring, they were suspended from the ceiling of the Caux Castle in Switzerland. Every series provides an opportunity to explore new conversations and to voice alarm over egregious plastic pollution and the depletion of our oceans. Last fall, Ocean Geographic came knocking and asked Arica to participate in a world-class deep diving adventure for three weeks in Indonesia. Arica welcomed the opportunity to travel, explore, study and create alongside other renown scientists, artists, photographers, and musicians. For Arica, it meant recertifying her diving credentials and committing to arduous travel that took her from Chicago to Tokyo and Jakarta to Molluccas (Ambon in Maluku). From there, the team boarded the Gaia Love ship in Ambon and explored the area for plastics pollution and aquatic life. Long days were spent sailing among the 75,000 mile stretch of islands and through the Banda Sea and the Seram Sea. It seems fitting that their boat, Gaia Love, is the Greek name for earth personified. Gaia was a Greek goddess and daughter of Chaos; something Arica saw in the plastic pollution among the beautiful lands of Ambon, Maluku and Sorong, West Papua. This Indonesian archipelago of islands is a tourists’ paradise. The experience confirmed what Arica knew: we are destroying our environmental sustainability and choking plankton, aquatic life and the very waters we depend on for our existence.
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Plastic has invaded the Coral Eco-System’s All over the world
Arica Hilton painting underwater at Sauwandarek Jetty, Dampier Straights, Raja Ampat
To tackle this problem, Arica continues to advocate for changes that Hemingway wrote about:
Rumi reminds us of the magical potential that exists within each of us:
“Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is.”
“The garden of the world has no limits except in your mind.”
Arica showcased her Elysium series, a creative work inspired by her Coral Triangle expedition, that appeared alongside other respected artists who traveled with her. This experience at the end of April took her to Beijing and Shanghai alongside National Geographic photographers David Doubilet, Jennifer Hayes and Ernie Brooks. Arica was also celebrated for her work took center stage as Greenheart International’s Global Leader of the Year. She follows in the footsteps of former awardees Nobel Peace Prize winner Jerry White and three-time Nobel Prize nominee, Dr. Ervin Laszlo. What I love about Arica, however, is her continued dedication to building change. As a member of Chicago’s Council on Global Affairs and a global ambassador for WomanScape and the International Women’s Associates, Arica continues rallies other voices of influence to help fight the urgent need for advocacy. Too often there’s a temptation to think we are small voices incapable of harnessing change, especially when you see the star power that Arica brings from her explorations and art. But imagining the opportunities that exist, even if we don’t have the confidence, can help us to take those first steps for making things happen, just as Arica and Hemingway did. Inspiration is everywhere and Arica’s favorite 13th-century Persian poet, Jalal ad-Din Muhammad
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Photo Credit: Arica Hilton Ambon, Maluku Islands, Indonesia
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ART & I N VEST ME NT MONA ZHANG
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nvestment is often associated with numbers, facts, and a subtle hint of boredom. I can still remember the confusion in my mother’s eyes when I told her that I was pursuing a career in investing.
Tencent was relatively unknown back then, but I was dazzled by the enormous value created by their business model. Today, Tencent is among the most valuable companies in the world.
I guess it’s hard for an art lover to appreciate the fascination in business when she finds magic in the pen of a poet.
This is where I get my satisfaction – to spot a great business early on. And for a long time, I believed my work had little to do with the arts until two years ago.
But to me, innovative products, insightful business leaders, and their adventure stories are so captivating. I feel compelled to figure out the driving force behind great companies. Someone who is curious about what I do can think of me as a detective – observing human behavior, investigating numbers, and correlating seemingly irrelevant facts to search for the hidden gems in the business jungle. I can still recall when I first discovered a small business called Tencent seven years ago that offered an instant messenger service in China. At the time, the company had transformed their users’ social network into a platform and was in the process of building an ecosystem of services on top of it.
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To celebrate Canada’s 150th Anniversary, the Vancouver Art Gallery exhibited 38 paintings of Claude Monet in 2017, and my mother recommended that I pay a visit. Monet had an unusual sensitivity to colour and avoided using black. I was enchanted by the fact that for centuries, people believed shadows were black until the artist saw it was coloured, and then so did the rest of the world. Artists, through their unique perspective, explored the depth of nature, pushed the frontier of cognition, and enlightened the mankind through their arts. That moment, I began to re-examine the nature of my work. Perhaps investors are like artists – we explore, we think, and we express.
Through the dots we connect, the puzzles we solve, the hidden gems we discover, we are crafting works of art. By investing in great companies like Tencent and communicating it with our clients, we are telling a story about the value we believe in and the world we envision. That’s how I started to really emphasize with artists. Because investing, like any creative process, is not all pleasant. It can be painful and lonely. There were times when I felt stuck in the jungle when all the treasures seemed to have been found, and times when the gem I held onto was not appreciated by others. But it was during those times that I expanded my knowledge and honed my skills, learned the virtue of patience and the strength of resilience. Today investing has gone way beyond a means for a living. It is my journey to see the world, explore the unknown, and find my own truth in life.
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“The world sees nature through the eyes of the artist. Why, for centuries….it saw shadows black until Monet discovered they were coloured… W. Somerset Maugham, Of Human Bondage
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Co f f e e w i th I nt e g r i ty Bad Ass Brew Coffee on Kuellife.com This blend is a labor of love created specifically to be consumed without cream or sugar. The four bean blend creates unexpectedly bright, sweet, bold, and earthy tones. Drink it black and you are bound to feel like a bad ass!
GET YOUR BAG OF BADASS COFFEE IN THE KUELSHOP
pu rchase with a purpose www.Shop.Kuellife.com
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Kuel Life + Java Love Coffee + Womanscape = A powerfully, delicious cup of coffee! About Java Love: Java Love Roasters is owned and operated by two powerhouse women, Jodie Dawson and Kristine-Ellis Petrik. They opened their first Java Love Roasting Company on May 1, 2011, in the historic Beekman Mill in Kauneonga Lake, New York. Their fledgling business has grown with cultivated care, beyond the tiny 400 square feet store where there was only enough room for four customers at a time. The mission of Java Love is providing great coffee, high customer service standards, community engagement and environmental sustainability. As a $1.5 million dollar, women-owned business, Dawson and Petrik operate in the greater Montclair area where they are happily raising their family.
Today, Java Love’s mission is focused on providing great coffee, high customer service standards, community engagement and environmental sustainability. Now, with two retail locations in Montclair and a third in White Lake, New York, and a fourth opening up in August in Suffern, New York, the small batch, artisan coffee roasting company remains competitive with both nearby Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks locations. Dawson and Petrik provide their customers with unique value by offering a consistent quality product, economic development, education and sustainable practices. They use organic, sustainably-farmed, fair trade- and rainforest alliance-certified beans and this resonates with the local community. For example, Petrik says Java Love uses milk from a local dairy farmer and sources their pottery from a local artisan. “And when we source from local bakeries, we know it’s a quality product. We work so hard on our coffee — why would we not have everything else match that level of quality and commitment to being fresh, good and nutritious?”
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Bass Add Brew is Java Love Coffee Roasting Co.’s most popular coffee. This blend utilizes four bold coffee beans that are mellow enough to enjoy without the addition of milk. BadAss Brew and other blends can be found on Kuel Life’s, Kuel Shop. Jack Perez, Founder & CEO of Kuel Life, has created Kuel Shop with a mission to find, select, and showcase products BY women FOR women. Perez does this by carefully selecting the products and providing an opportunity for us all to shop ‘small’, even in the online marketplace. When you buy an item from the Kuel Shop, you weave yourself into a woman entrepreneur’s storyline. In this way, Kuel shoppers become a vital part of the fabric of women empowering women. To purchase with a purpose, Shop Kuel.
Kristine & Jodie Photo Credit: JavaLoveRoasters.com
Kristine roasting some BAD ASS COFFEE! Photo Credit: JavaLoveRoasters.com
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Ja q u e l i n e P e re z
Fo u n d e r & C E O K u e l l i fe
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an item from the Kuel Shop you weave yourself into that woman entrepreneur’s storyline; you become part of the fabric of women empowering women. Purchase with a purpose, Shop Kuel. Jack founded Kuel Life in 2017. Jack-OfAll-Trades is spot on when it comes to her role at Kuel Life. She toggles back and forth from: blogging; to curating content and Kuel Women to create original content; to searching for and securing Kuel and unusual products and services to offer our community of women; to social media, website development, and general operations. She looks forward to initiating a hiring plan! Previously, she spent 20 years at Summit Strategy Partners, a San Francisco-based marketing and public relations firm, where she was a founding partner. Jack brings extensive, deep, start-up experience; having worked with numerous small to midsize companies. She is excited to finally birth her own start-up.
THE STORY BEHIND KUEL LIFE
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n my 50s, I began to notice the ‘disappearing act’ of relevant, useful, information and opportunities for women my age. Outside of a barrage of marketing messages that we should be using botox, fillers, or cut our hair short; there didn’t seem to be much. Vibrant, energetic, at the ready for adventure, I was dismayed that most lifestyle websites target the ‘below 35’ age group. The few ‘age appropriate’ lifestyle websites I stumbled across were riddled with advertisements; making it near impossible to determine where the content ended and the marketing began. Enter Kuel Life.
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Whoever said money can’t buy happiness simply didn’t know where to go shopping.
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Gertrude Stein
Having earned an MBA from the University of Chicago, Perez carries a hard-nosed business understanding to the entrepreneur world. She is fluent in Spanish, and having worked with multiple international firms, has a clear grasp on cross-cultural influences. Jack’s passions include: spending time with her son, traveling to exotic, off-thebeaten-path places such as; Cuba, Jordan, Zambia, Bolivia, and Zanzibar. An endorphin junkie, Jack is an avid jump roper, Peloton-fanatic, and a third-degree black belt in Taekwondo..
Kuel Life is an online community and curated shopping experience for women in midlife. Kuel Life delivers relevant, ad-free, content to women 45+. We share and empower each other with expert advice and stories from real women; women who are our friends, neighbors, colleagues, and family. Women to whom we can relate. A virtual space where women come together in community and share our voice and experiences. The Kuel Shop’s mission is to find, select, and showcase products BY women FOR women. Founder and CEO, Jacqueline (Jack) Perez hand selects the products creating an opportunity for us all to shop ‘small’, even online. When you buy
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Where Would the World Be Without Rachel Carson? By: Rose McInerney Time magazine called her book an emotional and inaccurate outburst. She was labeled a communist and vilified by the American government and throngs of chemical companies.
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ut, to use a modern phrase for the life-changing work of Rachel Louise Carson, she persisted.
In fact, Rachel Louise Carson did more than persist with the release of her book Silent Spring in 1962. Rachel sounded a cataclysmic environmental alarm around the world and across America, questioning the efficacy, the unmeasured effects and the unintended consequences of chemical pesticide use. Thanks to Rachel, the world heard the call. Her story is a testament to the a life lived in service to truth but it also serves as a grave warning that pesticide use and this “silent spring” of danger demands our attention, more than ever, in our modern world.
for most of us that clear-eyed vision, that true instinct for what is beautiful and awe-inspiring, is dimmed and even lost before we reach adulthood. If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life, as an unfailing antidote against the boredom and disenchantments of later years, the sterile preoccupation with things that are artificial, the alienation from the sources of our strength.” (Carson’s, The Sense of Wonder, 1965) Undocumented Dangers of Chemical Use
Rachel seemed like an unlikely crusader as a writer turned biologist. Raised in a small farming community in Western Pennsylvania, she started her career with the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries and Wildlife Services. She was hired to create pamphlets and write a series of radio episodes about marine life for a program called, Romance Under Waters.
But over the course of her work, Rachel began to question the undocumented dangers of synthetic chemical use. She gathered scientific research during her earliest work in marine biology and this provided the basis for research and documentation in Silent Spring. She also had opportunities to visit fisheries and farms, and to connect with scientists who were the first to see the impending dangers and side effects of DDT (dichloro diphenyl trichloroethane), the most widely used synthetic pesticide.
This fueled Rachel’s love of the planet and our oceans so she continued to produce more articles for publication in newspapers and magazines. It also spurred her to enthrall people with larger works, like her popular books Under the Sea (1941) and The Sea Around Us (1951). Her second book was translated into 32 languages and made the NY Times Best-seller list for 81 weeks.
Increasingly, she felt compelled to speak up despite the controversy it would surely cause. As a naturalist, Rachel felt obligated to warn the unsuspecting public and to save what she loved most in the world, the environment. Initially, Rachel wrote about some of these concerns and even pitched an article to Reader’s Digest, who turned it down saying people wouldn’t want to know about these dangers.
As Editor-in-Chief of all Fish and Wildlife publications, Rachel became a household name as a compelling scientist and an exploratory and inviting writer. Millions of fans were drawn to her descriptive passages that appealed to our best instincts and truth:
When government agencies and chemical companies found out about Rachel’s work and that she was about to release a book, they lobbied to block it and threatened to sue her.
Rachel Carson: An Unlikely Crusader
“A child’s world is fresh and new and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement. It is our misfortune that
Rachel was attacked in the press and by the Food and Drug Administration and other agency experts who tried to counter her claims saying she wasn’t a real scientist. When this didn’t work and Rachel’s
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voice began to win followers, the government offered halftruths that suggested there weren’t enough long-term studies to warrant concern. But Rachel’s research and comments throughout Silent Spring were irrefutable. She asked us to consider our relationship to nature and the legacy of destruction for future generations. Because the 1950s were the height of the Cold War Era it was easy to label Rachel a communist. In an age of scientific advancement, Rachel argued that humankind’s scientific advances could not be used to control nature in the name of progress as scientists and governments argued.
The Continued Dangers of Pesticides are Real Pesticides are pervasive, mutating toxins whose original purpose – to control weeds or kill insects that threaten our crops and our human health – have far-reaching effects. Repeated human exposure to DDT has been linked to attacks on the liver, endocrine and nervous systems. Cancer and birth defects in humans, birds and animal life are also well documented side effects, particularly after the Second World War (1939-45) when it was used to control head lice and mosquitoes.
Like all great tragedies, it was naive and arrogant for anyone to assume that science could control the complex interrelationship we humans have with nature. Negative consequences were inevitable as Rachel noted in this passage:
Across Europe and throughout Africa and places like Japan after Pearl Harbor, DDT was sprayed to treat the spread of typhus, malaria and yellow fever; all of which were transmitted respectively by head lice and mosquitoes. As a non-water-soluble chemical, DDT continued to be used without any long-term studies about dangers to our water, wildlife and human health.
“How could intelligent beings seek to control a few unwanted species by a method that contaminated the entire environment and brought the threat of disease and death even to their own kind?” (excerpt from Silent Spring)
It’s amazing to think after all we know, pesticides are still used in increasing quantities. Case in point: the latest news from Environmental Working Group (EWG), a non-partisan protection agency in the U.S.
Over the course of four years, Rachel quietly battled breast cancer while she continued her fight against the government and chemical companies. She kept her illness a secret until she passed away in 1964 from breast cancer. Ironically, even in her death, Rachel’s legacy of work spoke volumes about the risk of this synthetic chemicals.
EWG scientists claim a herbicide called glyphosate (found in Round Up and other weed killers) is widely used on crops – 250 million pounds in the America alone – and exposes children to dangerous levels of carcinogens found in cereals like Cheerios and other packaged foods like Kraft Dinner.
In fact, her seminal work on the unstudied, long-term effects of pesticide use continues to reverberate and take center stage today. We now know these chemicals produce a wide range of debilitating and destructive effects that have permeated everything from our air and earth to our consumer products, reproductive systems and living spaces.
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If the epidemic rise of autoimmune diseases, is not enough to scare us into action, the knowledge that our children may be ingesting toxic levels of pesticides approved by the federal agencies in Canada and the U.S. should. Many wine and beer lovers should also take note that dangerous levels of glyphosate were found in nearly 95% of the alcoholic beverages studied in a recent report. The only
beer amongst popular brands that showed no traces of glyphosate was Peak Beer Organic IPA. This and dozens of other studies within the independent scientific community demonstrate the continued need for vigilance and underscore the value of Rachel’s work. We owe our thanks to Rachel for ushering in the creation of the environmental inquiries under President Kennedy (1963) and later, the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under President Nixon in 1970. But make no mistake. Our planet is still in danger: “Pesticide use in crop production worldwide increased nearly twenty-fold from 1960 to 2000 and further increased from 1.0 billion tons in 2002 to 1.7 billion tons in 2007. China is the largest producer of pesticides and one of the most intensive pesticide users in crop production in the world. Despite the well-documented deleterious effects of pesticides on biological pest control function, the environment, and food safety, the health effects of these agents have also attracted substantial attention.” (National Center for Biotechnology Information) Action Has Nothing To Do With Partisan Politics Rachel’s legacy compels us to continue to fight against the nonselective use of pesticides that have the power to kill. This should not be a partisan issue for anyone, anywhere, although some critics suggest the early development of the EPA created a perception that, somehow, the protection of our world was a divided interest between Republicans and Democrats. It’s disconcerting to know there will be more long-term complications that are only just beginning to surface and we’re already fighting the save so many endangered species affected by these toxins.
The American bald eagle, a symbol used in our U.S. Presidential crest, is almost extinct because of the damage caused to their reproductive systems from DDT. When the females lay their eggs, the hard shell has been compromised and soften so much that the eggs are often crushed under the weight of the mother bird. There are too many questions to consider in this abbreviated article about Rachel Carson but one thing is certain. Rachel was the first to start a conversation and ignite a call to action on behalf of Mother Earth. She is unquestionably one of the greatest science writers and prescient thinkers America has ever had. Her studies set off a maelstrom of questions about powerful lobby groups and the right of every citizen to know the dangers of government-related programs and permissions that affect our water and all life on our planet. What onus do we have to fight for our shared planet and to fight interests that reap short-term financial gains that compromise the long-term sustainability and protection of our earth? Rachel Carson was awarded the Audubon Medal before her death in 1964, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor, posthumously in 1980. She’s been featured on a postage stamp and inducted into various women’s halls of fame. She is also memorialized in park, school and street named after her. But what I will respect and admire most about Rachel is her fearless pursuit of the truth and her determination to do what is best for all living aspects of our planet in the midst of great challenges. In the words of Albert Einstein, “Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.”
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This 2010 Silk Tapestry is made by African Artist, Billie Zangewa. It is titled The Rebirth of Venus, Zangewa shares her feminist perspective and strength believing it should tower over all else for women. It is an ideal fit to compliment Brene Brown’s advice to literally stand your ground. LEARN MORE ABOUT BILLIE ZANGEWA ON www.WomanScape.com 28 WS Magazine / Issue 01 / July 2019
“Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it.� Brene Brown
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Peggy Guggenheim, A Scandalous Modern Woman By: Denise Benson
When I vacationed in Italy for the first time, I created a list of destinations around the art I wanted to see.
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lorence introduced me to Michelangelo’s statue of David in the Accademia, and in the Uffizi, I embraced Botticelli’s Birth of Venus. When in Milan, of course, I only had eyes for da Vinci’s The Last Supper. But of all the museums, I was most excited about Peggy Guggenheim’s Collection in Venice. I was captivated knowing the museum is in her home, the Venier dei Leoni palazzo on the Grand Canal in Venice. Peggy purchased the palazzo in 1949 and lived there until her death in 1979. It seemed so intimate to view art in an actual home, rather than a formal museum setting. And, what could be better than a home on the Grand Canal in Venice?
The journey to Peggy’s home began with a walk down narrow alleyways and bridges and through the backsides of various palazzos and apartamentos with laundry hanging off balconies to dry in the afternoon sun. Relying on the few small brass plaques posted on some street corners, my husband and I happened upon an unassuming gate to the palazzo.
even had actual photographs of Peggy in sitting amongst her art collection. The view of the Grand Canal from the palazzo windows is breathtaking and dreamy enough for me to imagine the years of stories that we may never know about Peggy’s life. There are accounts vividly capture in Djuna Barnes’s novel, Nightwood. Djuna spent a period of her life living in Peggy’s home. After spending the afternoon at this special place, I wondered about the woman behind the art. Peggy Guggenheim was born into great wealth yet her life was not what people expected. Her father, Benjamin Meyer, and his family made their fortune smelting metals. Many people don’t know that Peggy’s father died tragically, aboard the Titanic, and left this branch of the Guggenheim family with less wealth. Peggy’s Her mother, Florette Siegelman, came from a banking family. and was an eccentric woman. She was not very maternal to her three young daughters and Peggy often felt neglected as a child.
The inviting courtyard was green with shrubbery and spare grass lawns to accommodate the sculptures in the garden. I took a moment to sit in the warm sunlight admiring the statue of Pomona by Marino Marini. This peaceful place to meditate and admire the art made me envious of Pomona residing in such a lovely place!
While Peggy chafed at what she considered her dull and “bourgeois” upbringing, she was determined this would not rule her life. Equipped with a generous trust fund likely worth about between $5-10 million dollars in today’s world, Peggy moved to Paris at the age of twenty-one to build a life with her husband, Laurence Vail.
Inside Peggy Guggenheim’s home, the artwork included exceptional examples of cubism, European abstraction, surrealism and abstract expressionism.
Immediately, Peggy immersed herself in the world of art. She made it her personal mission to support struggling artists and championed their work with her keen eye for talent. Nothing was too much for Peggy who even supported some of these artists like Jackson Pollack by guaranteeing them an advanced salary so they could focus on their art and quite their day jobs.
Peggy’s original dining table and a sideboard are still on display with odd pieces of original furnishings in other rooms scattered amongst the artwork. Seeing the artwork still hanging in the same rooms as they did when Peggy lived there made the experience intimate and enjoyable. A few of the rooms
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Something quite unusual at the time was also Peggy’s very curious sexual drive. She thought nothing
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of taking numerous casual lovers as she traveled and amassed a growing collection of art. Her lifestyle and sexual encounters well past middle age were considered scandalous in those days. But Peggy thrived on a free-wheeling, bohemian lifestyle of the art world and referred to artists as “her people.” Perhaps in this world Peggy had finally found a sense of belonging. Between 1938 and 1946, Guggenheim set a personal goal of buying one artwork a day. During WWII, modern art was considered junk so it was sold at bargain prices. Peggy loved the modern art movement and purchased the majority of her collection for about $40,000. Today, her collection is worth billions of dollars, and includes pieces from artists like Picasso, Miró, Pollock, Brâncuși, Pollack, and Ernst, to name a few. In 1938, Guggenheim opened a gallery in London that was met with great fanfare and public approval. But with the war advancing into England, she was forced to
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close it a year later. Undaunted, she went back to Paris and bought more works as the Germans were quite literally at Paris’s doorstep. In 1941, Peggy returned to New York with the artist Max Ernst (who she would eventually marry), and opened a gallery called Art of This Century to wide acclaim. It was here that her gallery became “the place to be” in the art world. She hosted many well-known artists like Dalí and Ernst, and championed lesser-known artists with talent, including Jackson Pollock. After the war, Peggy’s collection was featured at the Venice Biennale. Her exhibit was enthusiastically welcomed by crowds who had not been able to enjoy modern art under the iron rule of Mussolini. The wide breadth of artists from Picasso, Ernst, Dalí, and newcomer Jackson Pollock, who she claimed was her greatest discovery for the art world, became the must-see show at the event. Every day, Peggy went to the Biennale with her Lhasa Apsos dogs to watch the crowds enjoy her collection.
Her success here solidified her decision to live in Venice for the rest of her life. In the summer that followed, Peggy generously opened her palazzo to the public. Great artists like Chagall, Capote, Dalí and others would enjoy her company as she held court in her home. Peggy became a frequent fixture on the canal, riding in her gondola with her dogs in her lap and dawning a flamboyant sunglasses perched atop her nose. When Peggy died in December of 1979, her ashes were interred in a corner of the palazzo courtyard next to the grave of her 14 beloved Lhasa Apso dogs. While much of her personal life has been scrutinized, it can never diminish her contributions to the art world. I don’t think any of the men of that era, and possibly today, ever endured the same public scrutiny and outcry over their sexual dalliances. We know for example that gondoliers still rave about the conquests of Casanova who is greatly admired for the hundreds of lovers he took in Venice. Whatever her views on traditional relationships, life and politics, Peggy Guggenheim’s passion for modern art will be forever treasured by the art world. She was a tremendous force embracing and supporting the Modern Art movement and The Peggy Guggenheim Collection remains one of the most visited destinations in Venice and the world. Photo Credit: Denise Benson
The Grand Canal Weekender Tote Bag A chic bag perfect for a day out on the town or a weekend getaway and is available for purchase at;
Fine Art America
Photo Credit: Getty Images
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“I had to make my own living and my own opportunity. But I made it! Don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them.”
Madam C.J. Walker
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This is the rallying cry of Sarah Breedlove, known as Madame C.J. Walker. She is hailed as the first self-made female millionaire in America. Although her estate did not actually reflect this amount when she died (1867-1919), Sarah achieved incredible success as an entrepreneur, philanthropist and social and political activist. LEARN MORE ABOUT MADAM C.J. WALKER ON www.WomanScape.com
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Dr. Ken Hedges
T H E T R UTH ABOUT T H E A R CT IC By: Rose McInerney
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There were no radio broadcasts or Guinness World Record titles to be had when our team snowshoed 100 km across the Akshayuk Pass in the Arctic region of Baffin Island. We were a party of 17 women, 6 military veterans and 11 civilian business leaders.
from continent to continent under extreme conditions over the Arctic Ocean.
We started our trek a few days before April 6th, 2019 – the same day 50 years earlier, in 1969, when Dr. Ken Hedges radioed:
Dr. Hedges’ four men team included Wally Herbert, Allan Gill, and Fritz Koerner who braved temperatures of -54C, predatory bears and great periods of darkness on moving blocks of ice that put them and their dogsled teams in constant survivor-mode before as they crossed over the Polar Cap.
“I have the honor to inform Your Majesty that today, at 07.00 GMT, the British Trans-Arctic Expedition, reached the North Pole, 470 days after setting off from Point Barrow, Alaska.” The broadcast to the Queen signaled his team’s successful surface crossing of the Arctic Ocean by dogsled over the top of the North Pole. The Sunday Times and patron, HRH Prince Philip, sponsored the 3,800-mile trek that crossed 11 times zones and moved these men
When the men returned to London, their feat was hailed as “one of the greatest triumphs of human skill and endurance.” Dr. Hedges is the only surviving member of the fourman team. He lives a quiet life in northern Ontario, Canada. Before our team embarked on our life-chang-
Dr. Hedges team protecting the dogsled teams from polar bears. 38 WS Magazine / Issue 01 / July 2019
Photo Credits: 2015 The Wally Herbert Collection
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ing trip, which to date has raised more than $900,000 in funds for Canadian members of the armed forces who need help with job reintegration and special needs like PTSD (Post-traumatic Stress Disorder), Dr. Hedges shared his wisdom and encouragement with our tight-knit group. Ken, as we now call him, has seen the travesties of war and understands the fundamental drivers that bring out the best of our human experience. As former member of the British Special Air Service (SAS), the Royal Geographical Society, a Commander in the Order of St. John and a Polar Medal recipient from HM Queen Elizabeth, Ken has explored the reaches of our existence - physically, mentally and spiritually. Dr. Hedges encouraged our group to contemplate the uncompromising beauty of life and the nature that embodies our human existence. He asserts we must respect the delicate balance of these forces in our world, to ensure peace and freedom and to advance the progress of mankind. “This is the human spirit, a vessel of discovery for the meaning of life and of how we should live it. The spiritual question is what sustains us. Our survival, in Hedges words, is a temporary reprieve from an immediate threat. We may or may not survive but we learn to be aware, adaptable and accepting of the good and the hardships.” Accepting the hardships is something many of us are loathe to do. We prefer a smooth road and when we are forced into difficult situations and hardships, we find it hard to navigate life and may doubt or second-guess ourselves. Ken faced innumerable challenges that depended on 10 powerful dogs purchased from Inuit hunters in Greenland. The group had no maps, no satellite phones, no weather devices, or any special gear to protect them from the cold. The threat of ice-cold melt pools and fissures made it important
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to stay mobile, as the men faced extreme conditions. Remaining unphased in months of bitter cold and total darkness during the winter tested their patience. We are most vulnerable in this natural state, when we are pushed beyond our comfort zone; we fight with each other and we fight with our self. Spending so much time in isolation, Ken says the men were dependent on each other’s goodwill and their ability to withstand stress and danger. This was especially true when life-threatening situations arose. On one occasion a polar bear threatened to take out one of the dogs. Ken moved quickly to protect their sole means of transportation by firing a shot to stop the bear. But the bear dove into the icy water and resurfaced, jumping onto the ice and nearly knocking Ken off his feet. Forced in several circumstances to kill these magnificent creatures, Ken never forgot the enormous grief this caused. By the end of their expedition, the men had completed the longest dog-sled journey on sea ice, covering 6,000 km. But of all the trials that tested the men, Ken is convinced that strength and skills will always fall second to the attributes of “close friendships; personal trustworthiness; unsentimental compassion for those in difficulty or oppressed by circumstance; understated courage; dogged determination and an appreciation of peace; and above all, loyalty.” At a time when so many of us retreat to the isolation of our phones or question what we owe one another in this frenetic world, it’s inspiring to consider our duty to each other. The needs of my neighbor best define the coordinates of my neighborhood. We returned from the great north changed by its magnificent beauty and the knowledge of what we had endured together. As we gathered to celebrate our success with Ken,
members of True Patriot Love*, family and friends, I was home. *True Patriot Love is a non-profit organization raising money for military veterans and their families. Learn more at TPL.
Dr. Ken Hedges (Bottom Right)
Photo Credit: 2015 The Wally Herbert Collection
Photo Credits: 2015 The Wally Herbert Collection
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C urat ed p r o d u ct s d e s i g n e d t o in s p i r e www.Shop.WomanScape.com
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An Interview with Fiona Davis By: Yara Zgheib Actress, author, storyteller. Maker of her own destiny.
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ew Yorkers never sleep, but morning is always a good excuse for coffee. Nestled by the window, Fiona Davis cups hers and skims the New York Times leisurely. The tree just outside her window is positively overrun with birds; it was they, not the traffic, that woke her up this morning. She looks out at the city she loves, the actress turned storyteller. A chat. Fiona, your own story itself is novel worthy: Tell us about the young Canadian girl who took a bus to fame and New York City. My parents are British, and we moved all over the United States while I was young. The journeys were pretty jarring for me. I got involved with the drama club because it was where I felt I fit in best. After college I decided to head to acting school in New York City. Honestly, I don’t know what I was thinking! It was a blast. I joined a wonderful theater company. We did Shakespeare, Wilder, Genet – so many classics. We hung lights, made costumes, and raised money to produce three shows a year. One even moved to Broadway and was nominated for a Tony award. But as I hit my late twenties, I started getting itchy for something more, so I applied to Columbia Journalism School and it changed my life. I fell in love with writing, leapfrogging from editor to freelance journalist before finally finding myself in historical fiction. How did that encounter happen? On a hunt for a new apartment. At the Barbizon 63 Condo, a sumptuous historic landmark that used to be the Barbizon Hotel for Women. I learned that some of the old residents were still living there, grandfathered into rent-controlled apartments on the fourth floor. None would agree to an interview,
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but I could just imagine the stories they would have of their experiences in this building and city. So I decided to write a novel instead, about the people while recreating the real-life framework with fictional characters. It was an absolute joy, and I haven’t looked back since. I found my love crafting characters and a story, and using this city’s landmarks as my inspiration. Your stories do whisk us off on adventures across time and gilded, artful settings. Tell us about the heroines who go on them. I like stories in which women carve out their own way, actively pursuing their own destiny. All of my characters are fighting to find a certain truth and discover their own voice in the process. For instance, in The Dollhouse, both my heroines have unconventional goals: Darby, in 1952, is determined to do well in secretarial school and never marry, while Rose, in 2017, deals with loss by becoming obsessed with solving a mystery. In The Address, my heroines, a hundred years apart, are fighting for opportunity and success but are stymied by the rules of society and their own demons. And in my latest novel, The Masterpiece (to be released in August), the story is set in Grand Central Terminal: one woman fights for recognition as an artist during the Jazz Age, while decades later, a down-on-herluck socialite takes a job in the information booth. Do you relate to your characters? Are there snippets of you in them? You bet. I made Rose, in The Dollhouse, a journalist, because I could have her be nosy and get into lots of trouble. Sara, in The Address, comes to New York from London to be a housekeeper, and like her, I’ve often felt that I don’t quite belong in America.
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What about New York, though? You paint it so beautifully. Well, I’ve been here for 30 years now, to the point where I go downtown and say curmudgeonly things like, “I remember when this used to be an off-Broadway theater, way back in the ‘90s!” All of my friends are here and it’s just home. I can’t imagine living anywhere else. New York reappears as the setting for your new novel: Chelsea Girls, a story of friendship between two women performers during the McCarthy era. Specifically, the action takes place in the iconic Chelsea Hotel. What drew you to it? I love to explore an aspect of the arts in each book, really dive into what it means to the city’s history and the artist themselves. Past books have featured illustration, jazz, and architecture. The Chelsea Hotel has such a rich history of artists of all kinds – playwrights, visual artists, musicians, poets – passing through its doors, that it seemed like a perfect fit. I was particularly inspired by the fact that Arthur Miller lived in the Chelsea for several years (He wrote a marvelous essay on the subject, called The Chelsea Affect, which I highly recommend). For me, the hotel is quirky, inviting, and intimidating, all at the same time. I couldn’t resist. Many classic Fiona Davis themes are present in this new book (New York, female friendship, cultural heritage), but also some new ones: America under McCarthyism, the pervasive influence of politics. How and why is this novel different? I was lucky enough to interview several actors and acting teachers in their 90s who recounted their lives during the McCarthy era in New York, and was stunned at how little I understood the time period and the anguish they faced, of having to choose between career and friendships, success and ruin. In this book, I wanted to explore the myriad of ways that America was torn apart in the hunt for spies or anyone suspected of being a communist, and the terrible choices innocent people were faced with. Can certain parallels and lessons be drawn from this novel, and applied to America today? Today, there’s a lot of talk of witch hunts. I was interested in elucidating exactly what that means; why words matter. I wanted to reflect on how lives can be ruined if there isn’t transparency, and how one man rode a wave of national ignorance that, looking back, resulted in one of the most shameful periods in our nation’s history. Tell us about a few dreams you have for the future.
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Sometime in the new few years, I would like a lovely cottage outside the city with a garden, where friends could gather around a dinner table and sit for hours, drinking and talking. Also, my dog died a couple of years ago, and it might soon be time for another. But there is also so much to be said about living in the moment, and I love my life right now. I’m able to travel around the country and meet booksellers and readers, to hear their stories and how my books have helped them. Now that’s a dream come true. And what would you tell a young woman with big dreams who just picked up your book? First, don’t feel like you have to decide in your twenties what you’re going to do for the rest of your life. I changed careers like clockwork every decade, and only now, in my early fifties, have I found success and personal fulfillment. Second, start saving young and make sure you can always take care of yourself financially. I had a 401(k) in my twenties, when I was an actress moonlighting as a legal secretary, for goodness sake! Don’t depend on someone else to take care of you. That way, you’ll be free to make healthy, bold decisions. Thank you, this has been wonderful. A whimsical parting note seems appropriate, perhaps: What are three quirky little things about you? One of my ancestors was the butler to Henry VIII, I have prosopagnosia (facial blindness – it’s hard for me to recognize faces), and, if called for, I can bang out Beethoven’s Sonata Pathétique
FIONA DAVIS The Chelsea Girls Releases July 30, 2019
www.Fiona-Davis.net
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Refreshingly Broken Women By: Rose McInerney There’s something so refreshing about brutal honesty when two women are facing off. The confrontation can be crushingly mean and hurtful. In a kinda sick way, I feel a sense of vindication when the jabs are aimed at someone who seems almost deserving. It’s hard to know whether to fall over laughing or cover your mouth in feigned shock.
can’t imagine what you’re going through.”
This is one in a long line of the reasons explaining why I’m in love with the new Netflix series, Dead To Me. It tops my new favorite shows now that the curtain is down on Game of Thrones. Dead To Me stars Christina Applegate as Jen Harding, and Linda Cardellini, as Judy Hale.
Karen: “Well, you get that dish back to me whenever you can.” Jen slams the door in Karen’s face before Karen can answer.
Christina is a master when it comes to sarcasm, serving it up in a classic style reminiscent of her 10-year run in the sitcom comedy, Married With Children. I’d expect nothing less here from Christina, whose role in the Anchorman movies with writer/co-star, comedian Will Ferrell warrants praise and has become a cult classic and must-see movie in my family. Even if you watched only the first 15 seconds of the opening scene in Dead To Me, you’d agree the writers have nailed Jen’s refreshingly broken character and the premise for a creatively spun inciting force. In the opening scene Jen’s neighbor Karen arrives at her front door dressed in a pink sweater and white pearls. She’s holding a tray of lasagna and grinning in that begging sort of way so Jen will invite her inside. The camera work reinforces the slap-down that Jen gives Karen from the moment she rings the doorbell in a rapid fire sequence of cuts showing the ladies as they talk back and forth: Karen: “Just heat it up for 35 minutes in the oven.” (Karen holding the lasagna and smiling) Jen: “Thanks, Karen.” (forced smile) Karen: “It’s my take on Mexican lasagna. Jeff and I
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Jen: “Well, it’s like if Jeff got hit by a car and died. Suddenly and violently. It’s like that.”
It’s open season for Jen’s hostility and anger, which escalates after she attends a grief meeting and meets Judy, an unlikely friend. As Judy’s character unfolds, we see she is an annoying giver who just wants to love everybody. But she is also clearly intentional about what she’s doing, including trying to befriend and help Jen heal from her grief. The two characters are complete opposites. Jen loves painfully loud heavy metal while Judy is into soft Yanni-type music. Their career choices accentuate this difference, with Jen being a competitive realtor and Judy volunteering at a retirement home and painting simple pictures of girls with holes in their hearts. As each episode in season one unfolds, however, all is not as it seems. Judy has ulterior motives and a twisted past, well beyondher bonge-smoking binges. And Jen’s relationship with her husband was not too peachy, either. A complex plot slowly unwinds and both characters are richly layered and deeply flawed. And, who doesn’t love a flawed woman. I’m so tired of stock character roles for mid-age women. Hence, the second reason I love this series. It is written by Liz Feldman, a 42 year old comedian, actress and producer from 2BrokeGirls. The series tackles real issues for older women (not that forties and fifties is old!) and examines mid-life pain. While the painful subjects and some of the scenes
Photo Credit: Netflix still have that Hollywood gloss – the palm treelined streets, stupid “women need to get laid to get over their grief”, and a grief counselor who introduces himself with a far too trumped up explanation of his aunt’s death – the subjects that really count in the series aren’t typically given much air time. When asked, Christina Applegate said the show has been therapeutic for her, having had breast cancer and a double mastectomy. She also admits it nudged her to seek professional advice about lingering wounds that opened up after she started playing Jen. The show even examines the stigmas attached to pain and how we heal from it. The comedic approach makes it easier to watch and we can’t help but consider our own lives and how we deal with unresolved grief and pain. The shocking use of expletives increases as we move deeper into the plot and the shocking realizations about other events that motivate both Jen and Judy. This heightens the conflict and as we laugh, we find ourselves completely devastated by the gravity of the situation.
Photo Credit: Cinema Blend
The good news is the series has been picked up for a second season. If the well-written plot twists continue to heighten the stakes and the angst in this traumedic – Christina’s innovative name for this trauma + comedy show – I expect Dead To Me will be a lively favorite with fans over the next few years. As an aside, it’s also worth noting that Christina is one of the show’s producers (alongside Will Ferrell and Adam McKay). I’m excited to see how she helps steer this welcoming flawed Odd-Couple duo. Photo Credit: (Amy Sussman / Invision/AP)
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BioSteel Popiscles to Beat the Heat Fearless means bravely taking on challenges and using everything you’ve got to achieve success. WS loves BioSteel, a product that has quickly become the #1 product in the sports nutrition industry because it is all-natural, honest and effective for fueling your body. Why not start the summer with the healthiest and safest products of their kind. Enjoy BioSteel, the choice for #WomenofSteel.
Blueberry Yogurt Pop • • •
2 cups of frozen blueberries 2 cups of vanilla Greek yogurt ¼ cup of BioSteel’s Vanilla Whey Protein Blend Powder
Directions STEP 1: Combine each recipe’s mix into a blender until is a smoothie-like consistency (Mixed Berry Popsicle will maintain water-like consistency). STEP 2: Pour into ice pop molds and freeze until solid (about 5-6 hours) STEP 3: Remove from freezer and enjoy! Nutritional Information: Calories 62, Fat 1 g, Carbohydrates 12g, Fiber 1g, Sugar 10g, Protein 15g
Mixed Berry Pop • • •
2 cups of water ½ cup of frozen raspberries or choice of any frozen fruit 2 scoops of BioSteel’s Mixed Berry Sports Hydration Mix
Directions STEP 1: Repeat same steps in order from Blueberry Frozen Pop Nutritional Information: Calories 102, Fat 8 g, Carbohydrates 4g, Fiber 1g, Sugar 2g, Protein 17g
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Chocolate Banana Pop • • •
1 1/2 cups of frozen bananas 1/4 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk ¼ cup of BioSteel’s Chocolate Plant-Based Protein Powder
Directions STEP 1: Repeat same steps in order from Blueberry Frozen Pop STEP 2: Cut up the rest of the banana andadd it to the Popsicle molds. Once banana is in the mold, pour in your mix. Nutritional Information: Calories 90, Fat 8g, Carbohydrates 20g, Fiber 4g, Sugar 2g, Protein 20g
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Blueberry yogurt pop needs BioSteel’s Vanilla Whey Protein Blend Powder
Chocolate Banana Popsicle Mix
Mixed Berry Pop needs BioSteel’s Mixed Berry Sports Hydration Mix
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We are all made for greatness.
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WS Cares Because It’s What We Do Greatness doesn’t have to mean having to make big discoveries or creating masterful works of art. At WomanScape (WS), greatness is living a life rich with meaning, purpose, and dedication. It might to something larger than self. It can be a simple idea for building change, an invention that fosters on any magnitude for progress, or a voice of concern that protects our living planet. our shared humanity and the environment. Over the last two years, WomanScape (WS) has grown from a seedling idea into is a living library. We are artfully curated storytelling, focused on people changing history. Each month, we curate stories with interesting thematic ties whether it’s a series of leading women in the movie industry who use their talent to discuss social issues, or a group of diverse artists lighting up the world with their ideas.
In every story, the purpose is the same: to entertain and inspire readers the with knowledge, courage, joy and personal reflection to realize their own greatness. Wanting to step up the impact of our storytelling, we introduced WS Cares in 2018 to invest in today’s change-makers. This means supporting the men and women, today, who are giving the world the best of themselves in service to others. And, it also means partnering with women-led businesses and supporting women-made products. By leveraging 20% of what we earn financially and harnessing our networks and media resources, WS helps improve the success of history makers and our mission to change the world.
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WS Initiatives In 2018: •
WomanScape supported women saving our oceans from plastic pollution by donating to Blue Ring, a nonprofit working to protect our precious marine habitats.
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WS sponsored a Woman-Extraordinaire Humanitarian Award and Collaboraction, a non-profit theater company fighting gender and racial discrimination.
In 2019: WomanScape Founder, Rose McInerney snowshoed 100 km in the Arctic to help raise over $900,000 for programs and recovery treatments for Canadian military veterans and their families. See Letters from the Arctic story by Rose in this WS Today Magazine edition; •
WS plans to support global initiatives in the fall of 2019 that help women and girls in rural China and other parts of the world; And,
•
WS will continue to partner with other women-led businesses to help build their successs.
Photo Credit: Shiloh Adamson
When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy. (Khalil Gibran)
Sherman Kruse, 2018 Winner of IWA’s Woman Extraordinaire in Chicago, IL
WS Founder Rose McInerney
The 2019 All Women’s Team in Baffin Island
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A WS Exclusive Series
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Letter’s From The Arctic By: Rose McInerney
Light streamed through the open vent at the top of our red tent, rousing me to wake. A light layer of frost had formed over my eyebrows as I rubbed my face.
M
y balaclava was soaked, warning me to find a better way to vent the moisture from my breathing at night. And a hat – I had forgotten to cover my tingling exposed ears with a hat. Dangerously dumb. We had arrived in the dark the night before after a bumpy four hour ride to this first campsite. The sun was a welcome precursor to Day One at the top of the Akshayuk Pass. Another seven nights to go. I wiggled my toes nestled warmly at the bottom of my sleeping bag. Filled with excitement, the daunting 100 km trail lay ahead as I said goodbye to all the comforts of home and predictability. And so our journey began, across the Arctic in the foreboding frozen tundra of Baffin Island. Pulling on my ski pants, I hurried to preserve the warmth from my two layers of tights as I slipped my feet clumsily into my Baffin boots. I made my way outside searching for a place to relieve myself; somewhere away from the tent but not too far to stress my already screaming bladder. I would look back fondly at the pureness of that first morning. It was devoid of blisters and frostnip fingers, sore legs and secretive doubts, as I stepped into the blinding whiteness surrounding our campsite. I stared up at the granite cliffs with their frothy peaks, a tall witness to Mother Nature’s ancient hands. It felt good to inhale the very palpable spiritual display of Her prowess. Carved within this immeasurable beauty of the Arctic were glacier beds, fiords and frozen lakes. The vastness made our camp seem incredibly small, wrapped in the majesty of this desolation. As one of seventeen civilian business leaders and military veterans, an all-women group, we were trav-
elling from April 1st through April 14th, 2019. We had spent four days getting to Auyuittuq National Park with the help of five well-versed guides and months of rigorous physical training and mental preparation. The plan - to spend eight nights and nine days snowshoeing in this vast wilderness. The Akshayuk Pass sits on the ancient Penny Ice Cap and connects the northern town of Qikiqtarjuaq and southern town of Pangnirtung. Komatik sleds pulled by snowmobiles and driven by Inuit guides take people to the park entrances over rough forbidding terrains of rock and ice, and frigid temperatures ranging from -10 to -40 C. For centuries, Canada’s Inuit people have enjoyed a deep emotional connection to the land. The military women on the trek come from across Canada and all military branches, including the Army, Navy, and Airforce. After meeting months earlier at three training camps, our group became fast friends and shared the challenges of balancing family, gender discrimination and job-related difficulties. The purpose of our adventure was to experience this rare opportunity to experience the North but also to raise critical financial support and awareness about the needs of Canadian military veterans and their families. The proceeds from our funding efforts targeted True Patriot Love (TPL), a nonprofit organization providing health and mental wellness support programs for Canadian veterans and their families. Of the 658,000 veterans currently serving in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), many experience service-related injuries during and after their tours of duty; more specifically, Operational Stress Injury/Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (OSI/PTSD) and other forms of physical and mental health trauma. The need for support is just as great in the U.S. and abroad.
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Walking the Pass with our 50-pound sleds brimming with gear, food and tent equipment necessary for bitterly cold days and nights, we witnessed first-hand the survival challenges veterans face with food rations, harsh physical and mental conditions, and the need for adaptability. To date, our group has proudly raised over $900,000 in donations for TPL.
stretching our physical limitations. The toughest day was Tuesday, April 9th, snowshoeing nearly 20 km and crossing Summit Lake.
Despite all of the best training and well-made plans, the trek was difficult, both physically and emotionally. We struggled to stay warm for prolonged periods of time and the exposure to the cold after that sunny first morning felt nothing short of relentless.
In daily rituals like putting up tents, gathering ice and snow to melt for our water supply or helping boost morale, they were incredible. When a sleds caught on a rock or tipped over in harsh elements and tested the group’s resilience, these struggles were building blocks for great conversations about leadership, character. friendship and learning.
Within hours of strapping on our snowshoes and leaving camp, white-out conditions rolled in making it difficult to see anything beyond the person in front of each of us. We walked in single file but an immediate feeling of isolation took over as my fear of falling behind became my primary focus. Each day brought new weather conditions, the unexpected and adjustments. We forged ahead to Owl River and cut a path across June Valley and Glacier Bay,
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The military women exceled at mental and physical toughness, frequently leading our group when monotony and exhaustion set in.
Nearing the end of our trek, just before we arrived in Pangnirtung, we met a group of expeditioners from Japan on the trail. We hugged and shared in the joy of our common experience and strength. It was a precursor to the bond we established with our people of Nunavutians who welcomed us when we completed the Pass
The Mayor, local and Junior Rangers, police servicemen, and the Inuit community came out to greet us when we arrived. They prepared a cultural celebration of local foods, including fresh Char fish and seal. Our conversations within the community exposed how difficult life is in Nunavut and some of the challenges maintaining culture and survival in a new age. Visiting the Arctic changed the way I see the world. It will forever be an indelible source of great pride and proof that anything is possible when we face fear and stretched beyond what we imagine for ourselves. And to the military service men and women who protect us, thank you for your bravery, dedication and commitment to preserving our liberties and our freedom.
Base Camp at Mt. Thor
Photo credit: Sargeant, Shilo Adamson
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“ Were half th e p ower, t hat f il l s the world with ter ror, Were half the wealth bestowed on camps a nd co u r ts , Given to rede em t he huma n mind from error, There were n o need of arsenal or forts.� (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1845)
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Anna Akhmatova The Revolutionary Poet By: Alex Hilton
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THROUGHOUT THE MANY TRAVESTIES AND STRUGGLES THAT ANNA AKHMATOVA ENDURED, SHE NEVER STOPPED WRITING.
So why not flee Russia and pursue her art in other countries, like many of Anna’s friends and other scholars and writer’s did?
She was convinced she needed to speak out and that doing the right thing meant refusing to be silenced. Despite the legacy of Russian censorship that tried to break her, Anna’s poetry and determination changed history.
One love that surpassed her love of poetry was her love for her homeland, even when it changed so much from the country where she was born and raised. Anna stayed and fought even though her longtime friend and partner was executed. She endured the imprisonment of her son and husband, and remained steadfast against multiple regimes that tried to silence her.
Together with Osip Mandelstam and Gumilev, Akhmatova was a founder of a movement called Acmeism. While the movement lasted only three years (19121914), Acmeism had a massive impact on the poetical process of Russia and an even greater effect on Anna’s creative career.
Anna believed that those who fled from Russia after the Revolution “left their country for enemies to tear apart.” - Nayman. Instead, Anna refused to leave because
The poetry movement emerged as a reaction against Symbolism, which aimed to transfer truth indirectly, through the use of symbols. For Akhmatova, the importance of words were lost in symbolism. In this way, Acmeists renounced mystical images and the idealization of life. Instead they returned to the clarity of words and images, and placed humanity in the center of the poet’s attention. Acmeism manifested differently in each poet. Anna’s style had a very intimate verse of love and witnessing – something that certainly did not fit with the political process and communist order, let alone a woman who was certainly expected to keep quiet.
“
You will hear thunder and remember me, and think: she wanted storms.
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“she was a Russian, and to Russia, she would return no matter what awaited her there; the Soviet regime, whatever one might think of it, was the established order in her country: with it, she had lived and with it, she would die – that is what being a Russian meant”. – Roberta Reeder. While Anna herself was never subject to Stalinist tortures, she suffered the nation’s punishment. Her sentence was simply to be forgotten in her own country. Except for a few close friends, no one even knew about her anti-Stalinist poetry. Most of the poems she composed could not be written down but were relayed and memorized by her friends. Anna’s life would drastically change with the February Revolution in 1917, when the Tzar regime fell. It left Russia open and censorship crept in at the same time as the Bolshevik takeover in October 1917. Anna found herself homeless from the eve of the February Revolution up to the very end of her life, when the Soviet government granted her a country house outside of Leningrad. Her first encounter with the Soviet censorship occurred in 1925 when an unofficial Communist Party resolution banned her publications.
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This was never announced – her poetry was just left to remain unpublished for the next decade and a half. But Anna was smart and determined. Her answer was to develop a special way of writing poems, called tainopis, which means “secret writing.” Anna memorized her poems and relayed them to the friends she could trust. In turn, they also learned the poems by heart. Reading the diaries of Lydia Chukovskaya, a close friend of the Anna, it’s apparent how daunting this must have been. Anna would ask Lydia about the poems written long ago in order to modify them, or sometimes she needed to remember not a specific poem but what was changed in it throughout time. After Stalin’s death, Anna was slowly “rehabilitated.” Publication of her work, including her essays and translations resumed and she quickly garnered international recognition, including an honorary degree from Oxford in 1965. Anna passed away on March 5, 1966, as one of Russia’s most revered poets. Censors failed to silence Anna’s resounding voice, which grew louder after her death. Anna was a remarkable woman who stayed and gave other women and artists the courage to fight. She fought back when others conformed. Anna Akhmatova exemplifies the impenetrable human spirit that even when stripped of everything, she surpassed trivial measures of wealth because she had the courage to embrace her truth and do what was right. You will hear thunder and remember me, and think: she wanted storms. – Anna Akhmatova
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(Above) Anna’s last moments with her fan’s (Below) Joeseph Stalin
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