How willing were these well-known women to answer such probing questions about their lives?
I was pleasantly surprised at the candidness of most of the women. Most talked freely about the ups and downs in their lives – about their failures and disappointments as well as their successes and happy moments. If one was clearly uncomfortable with a particular question, I would take the subject as far as she was willing to go and then move on to another question. Later in the interview, when she felt more at ease, I might broach the uncomfortable area again. That tactic provided a chance for her to reconsider, sometimes opening up a course of discussion that she became willing to pursue. If not, I left it alone. • Do you use the women’s own words – verbatim – in the book? Each chapter contains the woman’s biographical sketch, which I wrote myself, and Author’s Notes (my first-hand impressions of the circumstances during the interview, including the woman’s surroundings and personality.) The bulk of the each chapter is made up of the woman’s own words, taken from her interview and e
