FOR MY
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Also by Brad Meltzer NOV ELS The Tenth Justice Dead Even The First Counsel The Millionaires The Zero Game The Book of Fate The Book of Lies The Inner Circle The Fifth Assassin The President’s Shadow NONFICTION Heroes for My Son Heroes for My Daughter History Decoded I Am Amelia Earhart I Am Abraham Lincoln I Am Rosa Parks I Am Albert Einstein I Am Jackie Robinson I Am Lucille Ball I Am Helen Keller I Am Martin Luther King, Jr. I Am George Washington
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FOR MY #1 New York Times Bestselling Author
BRAD MELTZER HeroesDaughter txt ed5 CC14.indd 5
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Heroes for My Daughter Copyright Š 2012 by Forty-four Steps, Inc. All rights reserved. Manufactured in China. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address HarperCollins Children’s Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007. www.harpercollinschildrens.com Library of Congress Control Number: 2013432374 ISBN 978-0-06-243927-7 Typography by Jenna Stempel 16 17 18 19 20
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Revised edition
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FOR L I L A , M Y DAUG H T E R , M Y H E RO
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contents xi Acknowledgments
26 Judy Blume
xiii Introduction
28 Sacajawea
2 Marie Curie
30 Theodore Roosevelt
4 Mallory Holtman and Liz Wallace
32 Julia Child
6 Joan Ganz Cooney
34 Golda Meir
8 Audrey Hepburn
36 Stevie Wonder
10 Helen Keller
38 Susan B. Anthony
12 Christopher Reeve
40 Nancy G. Brinker
14 Carol Burnett
42 Clara Barton
16 Amelia Earhart
44 Sheila Spicer
18 Alex Scott
46 Winston Churchill
20 Abigail Adams
48 Lisa Simpson
22 Anne Frank
50 Eleanor Roosevelt
24 Dorothy Day
52 Tina Turner
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54 The Three Stooges
90 Jane Goodall
56 Wangari Maathai
92 The Dalai Lama
58 Agatha Christie
94 Abraham Lincoln
60 Leonardo da Vinci
96 Thurgood Marshall
62 Dolly Parton
98 Dorothea Lange
64 Sojourner Truth
100 Hannah Senesh
66 Branch Rickey
102 Randy Pausch
68 Lucille Ball
104 Sally Ride
70 Elizabeth Blackburn
106 Benjamin Franklin
72 Ella Fitzgerald
108 Wilma Rudolph
74 Mahatma Gandhi
110 Dotty Rubin
76 Mary Shelley
112 Teri Meltzer
78 Rochelle Shoretz
114 Cori Flam Meltzer
80 Tank Man 82 Billie Jean King
116 Who Is Your Hero?
84 The Heroes of United Flight 93
125 Photo Credits
86 Temple Grandin
128 About the Author
88 Rosa Parks
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Acknowledgments I have many heroes. But my favorite ones are always my little ones—my children—Jonas, Lila, and Theo, who are the three reasons this book exists. They inspire me, humble me, and forever remind me what true love is. My other hero is the woman who gave them to me: my wife, Cori, who is absolute proof that mothers are the greatest heroes. On that note, this book only exists because of the work of my own mother, Teri Meltzer. When I was younger, she used to tell me that she’d saw off her own arm for me. Yes, she had a gift for overstating things, but she meant it. My mom gave me everything she had and is the foundation of all I’ve become. It is in her memory that this book lives. Special love to my father, Stewie Meltzer, and my grandparents, Ben and Dotty Rubin, in whose memory this book was also completed. Also, a thank-you to my sister Bari for being a great aunt and for being there for me, and to Noah Kuttler for always, always pushing me so hard, especially with this one. As I started writing this book, it became one of the most personal things I’ve ever worked on. And that is thanks to Jill Kneerim, who made sure that every page was all about my daughter Lila and my love for her. Special thanks also to Hope Denekamp, Caroline Zimmerman, and everyone at the Kneerim & Williams Agency; my treasured friend Larry Kirshbaum, the true godfather of this project; Simon Sinek, who told me my first inspiring story; Joel Marlin, who added the first pieces of research; Marie Grunbeck, for being me; Katherine Blood and Jonathan Eaker from the Library of Congress; Jason Sherry, who made it all move; Chris Weiss, who inspired so much of this; my friend Goody Marshall, who’s been there from book one; Bill Morrison, Jeff Zaslow, and the nice people of The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, as well as the National Portrait Gallery; Bob Miller, who put down the first brick of this house; Rob Weisbach, who had faith before anyone; and all the real heroes who shared pictures and family stories. A personal thank-you must also be said to my alter ego, Brad Desnoyer, who understands me like no one else. This house was built on his research. And while I love his help, what means far more is his friendship. Also thanks to the amazing Nick Marell. Without his hard work and photo-fi nding, there’d be nothing to look at.
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Finally, a thank-you to the wonderful Kathryn Whitenight, Tina Andreadis, Kathy Schneider, Katie O’Callaghan, Cindy Achar, Lydia Weaver, Doug Jones, Katie Salisbury, and everyone at HarperCollins, for giving this book such a beautiful home. And to Jonathan Burnham, whose graciousness and help will always be appreciated. Thank you, Jonathan, for this gift for my daughter—and for your faith.
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Introduction Dear Lila, my sweet daughter, I love you. And yes, I know every parent loves their child. But not like I love you. Someday, you’ll roll your eyes and groan, “Dad, you’re embarrassing me.” But right now, you’re only six years old, so these days, you still smile your big beaming smile when I say things like that. And I point that out simply so that, when these days are gone, I’ll have proof they existed. On the day you were born, I remember your mom waking up at four o’clock in the morning, rolling over in bed, and telling me, “I think the baby’s coming.” “Go back to bed,” I pleaded. “It’s too early.” God bless your mother, she actually tried to go back to bed. But you—my little unborn daughter—had your own ideas. Believe me when I say that wouldn’t be the last time. At the hospital, the instant I saw you, my heart doubled in size. My own mother, your grandmother, told me at the time, “Now you’ll understand how I love you.” After giving us a few moments with you, the nurses did their usual weighing and measuring, and then said they wanted to whisk you off for your first bath. “I’m coming with you,” I told them, determined to protect you. They smiled that smile they save for new parents and reassured me, “She’ll be fine. We have her.” But as I looked down at my beautiful, teeny, amazing daughter . . . C’mon . . . No way was I ever letting you out of my sight. I had to protect you! Thankfully, the nurses put up with me, and let me pretend I was some old parental veteran as I helped give you your first bath. Later, as I sat there, rocking in the rocking chair they gave me and holding you close, I still remember all the dreams I was dreaming for you. I didn’t want just one thing for you. I wanted everything. If you needed strength, I wanted you to be strong. If you saw someone hurting, I wanted you to find the compassion to help. If there was a problem, big or small, that xiii
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no one could solve, I wanted you to have every available skill—ingenuity, empathy, creativity, perseverance—so you could attack that problem in a way that no one else on this entire planet had ever fathomed. And that would be your greatest gift, Lila: That no one—and I mean no one—would ever be exactly you. I still believe that. I do. I’m a mushy dad. And it was in those first moments of blind idealism and unbridled naïveté that I resolved to write a book for you. That very night—six years ago, on the night you were born—I went home and started this book. My goal was to write it over the course of your life. I’d fill it with all the advice you needed to be a good person. I began the list that night: 1. Love God. 2. Help the kids who need it. My plan was to add more ideas as you grew older, and eventually, on the day when I presented this book to you, you’d realize I was indeed the greatest father of all time (I had a parade planned for myself as well). Thankfully, during your first few years, I realized my clichéd, self-important plan was just that. It hit me after hearing the stories of heroes like Sally Ride. Sure, I knew she was the first American woman to travel into space. But at a time when there were no women astronauts, do you know why NASA chose her? Some say it was because she was a genius at physics . . . or that it was her physical resolve and athletic ability . . . or that she was simply fearless. And sure, it was probably all those things. But it was also because when she saw an ad in her college’s newspaper looking for female astronauts, Sally Ride saw an opportunity. And grabbed it. In that moment, she dared to attempt what no woman had done before. I love that story. I wanted you to hear that story. I wanted your brothers to hear that story. I wanted everyone in this world to know that if you take a chance . . . and work hard . . . you can do anything in this world. Soon after, my new plan was born. I wouldn’t give you a book of rules. I’d give you a book of heroes. And in that, I’d give you absolute proof that anything is possible. When you’re older, this will be the point where you’ll again roll your eyes and again groan, “Dad, did you just tell me ‘anything is possible?’ You’re embarrassing me. Again.” I won’t begrudge you, Lila. I did the same thing. But let me be clear: My dreams for you today are different from the ones on the day you were born. Sure, I still want everything for you. I always will. But amongst those dreams, there’s one I keep coming back to. It’s the dream xiv
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that links every single hero in these pages. You’ll see inside when you read it, my daughter. Every hero in here is a fighter. And Lila, no matter what stage of life you’re in, when you want something—no matter how impossible it seems—you need to fight for it. When you believe in something, fight for it. And when you see injustice, fight harder than you’ve ever fought before. To see the results, read the story of Marie Curie, who never stopped pushing science forward, even when she was dying from the radiation she was studying . . . or the story of Billie Jean King, who challenged (and beat!) the pig-headed man who told her that women were weaker than men. Women are not weaker. Read that again, Lila. Women are not weaker. They are just as strong, just as resolute, just as creative, and are filled with just as much potential as any man. Yes, as your father, my instinct is to protect you (like that first day with the nurses). Other people will want to protect you too. But remember that you are not a damsel in distress, waiting for some prince to rescue you. Forget the prince. With your brain and your resourcefulness, you can rescue yourself. And when you have your doubts—as we all inevitably do—you’ll have this book, full of p eople who were wracked with just as much fear, but who also found the internal strength to overcome it. From Amelia Earhart to Abigail Adams to every person in here, you’ll see the stories of women (and men) who are no different from you and me. We may lionize them and put them on pedestals. But never forget this: No one is born a hero. Every person in this book had moments where they were scared and terrified. Like you. Like me. So how did they achieve what they achieved? Because whatever their dreams were, big or small—for their country, for their family, or even for themselves—they never stopped fighting for what they loved. We all are who we are—until that moment when we strive for something greater. Is that schmaltzy and naïve? I hope so. Because I want you to learn those things too. And so, my daughter, here is your book. This book is my dream for you. And it’s a dream that was built by both myself and the most important hero of all: your mother. When you have doubts, there is strength inside. When you are ready to give up, there’s motivation inside. And when you have questions, there are answers inside. But I hope you know, as every person in these pages proves, the best answers will always come from what’s within you.
I love you, my Lila-boo.
Dad
(aka Brad Meltzer)
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 2011 xv
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FOR MY
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BRILLIANT
Marie Curie
S C I E N T I S T. R E S E A R C H E R . N O B E L P R I Z E W I N N E R .
As one of history’s greatest scientists, Marie Curie was awarded two Nobel Prizes— one for Physics and one for Chemistry. As a woman, however, she was not invited to address the audience at the acceptance ceremony. Today, her findings on radiation are part of the most complex protocols for treating p eople with cancer.
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When she made her first revolutionary discovery, that radiation came from the interior of an atom, she could have stopped—she’d accomplished enough. When she pushed her theory forward, inventing the term radioactivity to describe her findings, she could have stopped—she’d accomplished enough. When she discovered two new elements, polonium and radium, and went on to become the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, she could have stopped—she’d accomplished enough. And when her husband died and the French government offered her support in the form of a pension, Marie Curie refused the money, saying she could take care of her two daughters by herself. She did it by becoming the Sorbonne’s first female lecturer and professor. From there she went on to win her second Nobel Prize, this one in chemistry, making her the first person to receive Nobel Prizes in two fields. She became so famous that when she traveled to the White House, President Harding presented her with a key to a lead-lined box that held one gram of radium. Worth more than one hundred thousand dollars, the radium was a gift from the women of America, who collected the money so Curie could continue her groundbreaking research. As she got older, Curie kept going, working with her daughter to find medical applications for her research. Indeed, even when she died from leukemia—after years of radiation exposure—we were still learning from her. Throughout her life, with so much accomplished, she could have stopped, she could have stopped, she could have stopped. Lucky for us, she didn’t. “One never notices what has been done; one can only see what remains to be done. . . .” —M A R I E C U R I E
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CHAMPIONS
Mallory Holtman and Liz Wallace S O F T B A L L P L AY E R S .
As players on Central Washington University’s softball team, Mallory Holtman and Liz Wallace lost a game of baseball. And won the game of life.
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Western Oregon University senior Sara Tucholsky had never hit a home run before—not in high school, not in college, not ever in her twenty-one years of playing softball. But at this doubleheader, with hecklers yelling at her, Tucholsky smashed the ball over the center-field fence. Amazed at her home run, Tucholsky forgot to touch first base. As she quickly turned to correct the mistake, her knee blew out. She had torn a ligament—her ACL. Tucholsky was on the ground, crawling back to first. Here’s the key: If anyone from her team tried to help her, Tucholsky would be called out. The umpires said that if she couldn’t continue beyond first base, and a pinch runner was put in, her over-the-fence hit would count only as a two-run single. That’s when the opposing team’s first baseman, Mallory Holtman, said to an umpire, “Excuse me, would it be okay if we carried her around and she touched each bag?” The umpires looked at each other. What? But as they discussed it, they realized there were no rules preventing the opposing side from helping. So that’s what Mallory and a teammate did. Holtman and shortstop Liz Wallace literally carried Tucholsky—an opposing player—around the bases, making sure she tagged every base with her good left foot. In the end, that home run contributed to Holtman and Wallace’s team losing the game. It also meant that Holtman, a senior, would never make it into the NCAA playoffs. Soon after, her softball career was over. But there’s a reason they now call Holtman the “greatest player” in her team’s history. And it’s not just because she’s the all-time home run leader in her conference (which she is). “It was such a lesson that we learned—that it’s not all about winning. And we forget that, because as coaches, we’re always trying to get to the top. We forget that. But I will never, ever forget this moment. It’s changed me, and I’m sure it’s changed my players.”— P A M
K N OX ,
coach for Western Oregon
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V I S I O N A RY
Joan Ganz Cooney H E L P E D C R E A T E S E S A M E S T R E E T.
With the creation of Sesame Street, Joan Ganz Cooney changed the history of both television and education. Today, Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, and Elmo reach over 100 million children in more than 140 countries.
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At a dinner party, someone asked her, “Do you think television could be used to teach young children?” Joan Ganz Cooney, who worked in TV, needed time to answer the question. She started by commissioning a study. The study offered a revolutionary conclusion. And so began her experiment, which she called the Children’s Television Workshop. She hired researchers, writers, and artists. And a young puppeteer named Jim Henson. The first episode appeared in November 1969. Forget commercials. This show was brought to you by the letters W, S, and E—and the numbers 2 and 3. The cast was multicultural, so they looked like the preschoolers they wanted to help. And of course, there was that big yellow bird who taught kids it was okay to make a few mistakes. “Do you think television could be used to teach young children?” Joan Ganz Cooney’s answer was Sesame Street. It was a resounding “Yes.” “It’s not whether children learn from television, it’s what children learn from television, because everything that children see on television is teaching them something.” — J OA N G A N Z C O O N E Y
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ICON
Audrey Hepburn AC T R E S S . A M BA S S A D O R . R E L I E F WO R K E R .
Hollywood star Audrey Hepburn epitomized grace and beauty in films like Breakfast at Tiffany’s. But despite being one of the few p  eople to win an Oscar, a Tony, an Emmy, and a Grammy Award, her greatest role was as a UNICEF International Goodwill Ambassador, working to ensure no child would ever suffer through hunger.
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As a child in Nazi-occupied Holland with nothing to eat, she nearly starved. But as she witnessed her uncle’s execution by firing squad, as she saw innocent families shipped off in trains, she knew others had it worse. And when the liberation finally came—when the forerunner of a group called UNICEF brought her food and medical relief—she knew she was saved. Forty years later, Audrey Hepburn was the greatest and most beautiful actress in the world. She didn’t have to do anything. But that’s when she reached out to UNICEF. They didn’t find her. She found them. From Ethiopia, to Turkey, to Sudan, to Bangladesh, Audrey Hepburn made over fifty trips to the poorest and most desperate countries in the world, never forgetting her own near starvation as a child. In 1992, just before she was diagnosed with cancer, she made her final visit—to Somalia. Before President Clinton and later President George W. Bush sent troops, it was Audrey Hepburn who brought the tragedy there to the press and the world. It is her greatest legacy: Yes, the hunger that’s in your belly can destroy you, but the hunger that’s in your soul— the hunger that drives you— if you use it to help others, it can be your greatest source of power. “Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it’s at the end of your arm. As you get older, remember you have another hand: the first is to help yourself, the second is to help others.”—AU D R E Y
H EPBU R N
“Often the kids would have flies all over them, but she would just go hug them. I had never seen that. Other people had a certain amount of hesitation, but she would just grab them. Children would just come up to hold her hand, touch her— she was like the Pied Piper.” — J O H N I S A AC ,
chief of the UN Photo Unit 9
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U N S T O P PA B L E
Helen Keller D E A F. B L I N D . L I M I T L E S S .
Helen Keller was the first deaf and blind person to earn a college degree. She would not be the last. Today, thousands of deaf and blind students enroll in universities— thanks to her work revolutionizing the education system and treatment of the blind, deaf, and mute.
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When Helen was nineteen months old, an illness left her blind and deaf. She didn’t know how to read. Or even speak. She hadn’t yet learned language. Now she was sealed in a black, silent place. They said she’d never achieve anything. But her teacher—Anne Sullivan—had faith in her. Which inspired Helen to have faith in herself. In the beginning, she had a few self-made signs. Pushing meant “go.” Pulling meant “come.” Anne taught her far more by finger-writing words into the palm of Helen’s hand, which is how Helen learned language. But when Helen felt the movements of Anne’s mouth, she realized how most p eople communicated. Immediately, Helen spelled, “I want to talk with my mouth.” Even her teacher was skeptical about teaching her. It would’ve been so easy to let Helen keep signing, to let Anne be her voice . . . But Anne had taught Helen too well. Now Helen wouldn’t accept easy. To feel the vibrations of each word, Helen put her thumb on Anne’s throat, her pointer finger on Anne’s lips, and her middle finger on Anne’s nose. At her seventh lesson, she spoke this sentence, word for word: “I am not dumb now.” Oh, and that girl who they said would never achieve anything? She didn’t just learn to speak English. She also became proficient in French and German. And wrote twelve books. And graduated from Radcliffe College at Harvard University. Cum laude. “No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars or sailed an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit.”—H E L E N
KELLER
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S U P E R H E RO
Christopher Reeve AC T O R . AC T I V I S T F O R S P I N A L C O R D R E S E A RC H .
He was famous for playing Superman, but what made Christopher Reeve beloved happened after he was paralyzed in a riding accident. He spent the rest of his life as an advocate for spinal cord research and treatment.
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Thrown from a horse, with his hands caught in the bridle, he landed headfirst. In the hospital, as he lay there with his neck shattered, he told his wife, Dana, “Maybe we should let me go.” Without hesitation, Dana told him, “I’ll be with you for the long haul, no matter what.” She then added the words that saved his life: “You’re still you. And I love you.” The progress he made personally was nothing short of amazing, but what he did for others? That was the miracle. Despite his speech being slow and staccato, despite his mobility being limited to a wheelchair controlled by a straw, despite his independence being gone, Christopher Reeve refused to stay down. He lobbied Congress, fought for new research, and even appeared on Sesame Street with Big Bird to explain how his wheelchair worked. Despite what the doctors predicted, he was able to eventually move some of his fingers and regain sensation over much of his body. People thought Christopher Reeve was Superman. He wasn’t. But he was Clark Kent. Normal, vulnerable, and built just as fragile as the rest of us. Thankfully, he never let that stop him. “When the first Superman movie came out, I was frequently asked, ‘What is a hero?’ My answer was that a hero is someone who commits a courageous action without considering the consequences. . . . Now my definition is completely different. I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles. They are the real heroes, and so are the families and friends who have stood by them.” — C H R I S T O P H E R
REEVE
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COMEDIAN
Carol Burnett
A C T O R . F U N N Y L A DY. W O M A N O F H E R W O R D .
As the star and creator of The Carol Burnett Show, she was one of the funniest and most successful comedians in show business. Her show lasted eleven years, captured twenty-five Emmys, and was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Best TV Shows of All Time.
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After her father abandoned her and her mother’s alcoholism became debilitating, Carol was raised by her grandmother in California. She grew up in poverty. When she wanted to be an actress, she didn’t have the money to go to New York. That’s when a secret benefactor came forward, willing to give her a thousand dollars to pursue her dream. The money came with three stipulations: 1. She could never reveal the donor’s identity; 2. She had to repay the loan in five years; and 3. She had to help other young entertainers attain their dreams. After working as a hat-check girl, Carol Burnett eventually found success and paid the loan back . . . five years to the day. Then she set up an award to be given every year to a theater student at Emerson College. She could’ve stopped there. Instead, she set up another award for theater students at UCLA. Then she got a fan letter from a high school student, who wrote of her own dreams of working in show business. Carol Burnett called the girl’s house, went to see her perform at a local event, and eventually gave young Vicki Lawrence a starring role on her blockbuster TV show. It’s one thing to never forget where you came from. But it’s just as important to never forget who got you where you are today. “I’ve been helped by acts of kindness from strangers. That’s why we’re here, after all, to help others.” —C A RO L B U R N E T T
Carol Burnett famously ended each show by tugging her ear, which was a secret greeting to the grandmother who raised her—the woman Carol forever loved. 15
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DAREDEVIL
Amelia Earhart R E C O R D B R E A K E R . H I G H - ÂF LY I N G P I L O T.
A pioneer in aviation and the first female to cross the Atlantic, Amelia Earhart broke many flight records. She died while trying to become the first person to fly around the world at the equator. Her plane has still never been found.
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She worked as a truck driver, stenographer, and photographer. Just to save enough for the flying lessons. Six months after she learned to fly, she put away enough for a bright yellow, used biplane called Canary. The following year, she broke her first record, reaching an altitude of fourteen thousand feet, the highest recorded at that time by a woman. She wasn’t a natural. She wasn’t the best pilot. She had to work at it. But within her short lifetime she showed the world that the greatest flight we’ll ever take is the one no one has tried before. “Please know I am quite aware of the hazards. . . . I want to do it because I want to do it. Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail their failure must be but a challenge to others.” —A M E L I A E A R H A R T
“Never interrupt someone doing what you said couldn’t be done.” —A M E L I A E A R H A R T
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DREAMER
Alex Scott
F O U N D E R O F A L E X ’ S L E M O N A D E S TA N D.
Four-year-old Alex Scott opened what is arguably the most successful lemonade stand in history.
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She was diagnosed with cancer before her first birthday. It became the only life she knew: Sickness. Chemotherapy. Surgery. When she was four, Alex asked to put a lemonade stand in her front yard. It was her idea. Not her parents’. Hers. She didn’t do it to buy a new doll, or even pay hospital bills. She told her parents she wanted to give the money to the doctors so they could find a cure for all the other children diagnosed with pediatric cancer. Again, her idea. In a single day, “Alex’s Lemonade Stand” raised two thousand dollars. Soon other stands began popping up—all with Alex’s name on them. Every year, Alex went back into the summer sun to sell her lemonade. And so did the others. Eventually, they raised two hundred thousand dollars. For Alex, it wasn’t enough. She had a new goal: one million dollars. On June 12, 2004, hundreds of lemonade stands opened in every state across the country—ordinary p eople selling water, sugar, and lemons to raise money for kids with cancer. Nearly two months later, Alex passed away while her parents held her hands. She was eight. Make no mistake: the one-million-dollar goal was surpassed. And before she died, Alex said the next year’s goal should be five million. Today, her dream has raised over $45 million. And it’s still going. One idea. One girl. One big dream. “Oh, we can do it. If other p eople will help me, I think we can do it. I know we can do it.”—A L E X
SCOTT
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R E V O L U T I O N A RY
Abigail Adams W I F E . M O T H E R . PA T R I O T.
The wife of President John Adams and the mother of President John Quincy Adams, Abigail Adams was as outspoken as either of them in the new America she helped shape.
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In April 1775, the shots were fired at Lexington and Concord—shots that started the American Revolution. Within a month, with her husband away in the capital to help a struggling government, Abigail Adams turned her house into a sanctuary for colonial soldiers. Her kitchen floor held all those who needed rest. Her barn and attic became bedrooms for militiamen. Her fireplace was used to melt spoons into ammunition. All the while, she relayed the news to the person she called, “My Dearest Friend,” reaffirming John Adams’s belief that the American colonists had to fight for their liberty. As the war went on, Abigail argued for women’s rights and slaves’ rights, and she did it at a time when, under English law, married women had no legal identity separate from their husbands. In the letters she wrote to John Adams, and in her fight for equal rights, Abigail Adams made some of the boldest statements of her time. So when history books talk about the Founding Fathers, let’s not forget there were also Founding Mothers. “If we mean to have Heroes, Statesmen and Philosophers, we should have learned women.” —A B I G A I L A DA M S
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WITNESS
Anne Frank
AU T H O R O F T H E DI A RY OF A YOU NG GI R L .
Forced to hide in an annex by the Nazi regime, teenager Anne Frank wrote her deepest thoughts in a simple diary. After Anne died in a Nazi concentration camp, her father published her diary and showed the world just how powerful a child’s voice can be.
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The rules changed slowly in Amsterdam. First, her family’s doors had to be locked by 8 p.m. Then the police made her turn in her bicycle. Yet even when she was forced to leave her school, when her father was no longer allowed to drive, when her mother could only buy groceries from stores marked “Jewish Shop,” when her sister was ordered to report to a concentration camp, Anne Frank still believed that people were good. For two years and one month during World War II, as the Frank family hid in the annex that was tucked behind a bookcase, as she scribbled in that tiny book with the red-checked cover, Anne Frank never gave up on humankind. As a result, she gave the world the very best reason to never forget. “Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy.” —A N N E F R A N K
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DEN MOTHER
Dorothy Day
A DVO C AT E F O R T H E P O O R A N D H O M E L E S S .
After working with the poor during the Great Depression, Dorothy Day helped found the Catholic Worker movement, which led to the creation of hospitality houses and farming communes that are now all over the world. (© BOB FITCH PHOTO)
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It started when she published a small newspaper about being hospitable to the homeless. Soon after, there was a knock on Dorothy’s door—from a homeless woman seeking shelter. To Dorothy it wasn’t even a question. This was her mission. She rented an apartment space for ten women, then another for men. It grew in size, serving hundreds in New York. Then her House of Hospitality spread across the country—thirty-three shelters that housed and fed the homeless, and asked nothing in return. That was the one rule: Everyone—of every religion—was accepted. Eventually, Mother Teresa came to visit her to pin a cross on Dorothy. The Catholic Church has even recognized her as “a Servant of God”—the first step in officially making her a saint. But of all her accomplishments, what mattered most was how she dealt with that first knock on the door. In life, you will be faced with problems. What counts is whether you turn away or tackle them. “The greatest challenge of the day is: how to bring about a revolution of the heart, a revolution which has to start with each one of us?”— D O RO T H Y
DAY
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TRUTH TELLER
Judy Blume
B E S T S E L L I N G A U T H O R . B E L O V E D S T O RY T E L L E R .
In books like Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Judy Blume trailblazed a new genre of books for young adults. Though critics have tried to censor her, her work has sold more than 80 million copies, in thirty-Âone languages.
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They’re called novels for a reason: they’re supposed to carry with them something original, something new. Some novels teach. Some entertain. Some comfort. The best ones introduce ideas. For more than four decades, Judy Blume has done just that, giving kids honest answers about their most complex questions—bras, sex, menstruation, puberty—and never talking down to them. But at the end of the day, her most vital message is the one lesson all of us need to hear—at every age: Whatever your quirks or idiosyncrasies, it is always okay to be exactly who you are. “Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret. I just told my mother I want a bra. Please help me grow God. You know where. I want to be like everyone else.” — J U DY B LU M E ,
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
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