Every Woman has a Story by Gina Messina-Dysert

Gina Messina-Dysert profileRecently, Carol Christ wrote about her experience of being interviewed for the Women’s Living History project at Claremont Graduate University.  It is a project I have co-founded and am continuing to develop; I am grateful that Carol and others have offered their “herstories” to be archived.  While I am not a historian, I do have a strong interest in women’s stories and with important reason…if we do not tell our stories, who will?

I first became interested in oral history during my doctoral program when I took a course with Claudia Bushman focused on women’s autobiography.  It was a difficult time; my mother had passed away unexpectedly and I was consumed with grief.  Because her death was premature – she was only 56 years old – I hadn’t prepared to lose her. I thought I had years to figure out all the things I would want to remember and pass on about my mom.  Yet, she was gone and I could no longer ask her the many things I wanted to know, needed to know about her.  Parts of her story would be lost forever and I did not know how to cope with that.  Continue reading “Every Woman has a Story by Gina Messina-Dysert”

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