Women of Crisis: Lives of Struggle and Hope

Two decades ago Robert Coles (The Moral Intelligence of Children: How to Raise a Moral Child) began collaborating with his wife, Jane Hallowell Coles, on a series of interviews that spanned many years. The resulting book speaks volumes about class, race, and gender in an America where poverty abounds. Five women's voices ring out strongly: a migrant farmworker trying to break free of a bone-numbing life; an Appalachian mother with jittery dreams; an Eskimo woman who scorns convention; a traditional young Chicana in Texas; and a wry, observant maid in Massachusetts. Their sensibilities range from stubborn refusal to heed warnings about "stepping out of my proper shoes" to shrugging acceptance of a woman's lot.