Book Description

This book is based on 18 life stories, as told by women over the age of 70 with roots in 27 different countries. Each story is analyzed as a unique account of individual experiences with strength, pain, and love. At the same time, their stories are a source of knowledge about major events in society over the past decades, where flight, migration, and encounters between different cultures have been a condition of life for many. Used as a framework for this book is visual artist Marit Benthe Norheim's project, Lifeboats, which consists of three sailing sculptures that symbolize different stages in women's lives: Longing-the young about to set out in life; Life-the pregnant in mid-life; and Memories-the ageing. It is the third boat and its 19 figureheads that this book is linked to. The narratives of the figureheads hold the common message that, in spite of differences, readers should remember the past and use their experiences to promote openness and tolerance. A Shipload of Women's Memories is based on a collaboration between Professor Ann-Dorte Christensen, Aalborg University, and visual artist, Marit Benthe Norheim. Journalist Marianne Knudsen contributed to the research and the interviews. This book was published with support from the Spar Nord Foundation. *** "Profusely and beautifully illustrated, 'A Shipload of Women's Memories' is impressively informative, thoughtful, and thoroughly 'reader friendly' in organization and presentation making it an unreservedly recommended addition to personal reading lists, as well as community and academic library Gender Studies collections and Migration Studies supplemental reading lists." --Midwest Book Review, Reviewer's Bookwatch: April 2017, Bethany's Bookshelf Subject: Gender Studies, Migration Studies]