My journey had always been to be a carpenter. I expected

not only a challenging job but also the chance to be part

of a historic transformation—socially and economically—

that  would  make  the  construction  trades  accessible  to

women. That transformation didn’t happen until years

after I entered the trades, and it came about with the

affirmative action law in the United States, which was a

policy of favoring individuals from groups regarded as

disadvantaged or suffering from discrimination.

My story includes the many jobs I held along the way

while teaching myself carpentry. I knew of no one in my

family in the trades, nor did they have any friends in that

line of work. My mother’s family surname was Henault,

and they came from Canada. She was one of my first role

models for hard work, and I loved her dearly! But I left

home at eighteen years of age to pursue my dreams.

I knew that it would be difficult because I’d never heard of

a female carpenter. It was exceedingly difficult to find

work in the all-male oriented construction industry. But

my story tells all. Even my family thought I was crazy for

dropping out of college to pursue this kind of career,

especially since I’d been awarded scholarships in physical

education and music at the University of Chicago.

There were many angry and frustrating days along my

journey to success, and I sometimes took it out on the

people around me. But all in all, it made me tough for

what was to come. Read the rest of the book and please leave a review!