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!