50TH Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing, Trailblazer: Poppy Northcutt

50 year anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing!
July 20, 1969-July 20, 2019

INCREDIBLE.That's the only word I can use to describe the accomplishment of the NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Mission to the Moon! In the 1960's President Kennedy declared America would land a man on the moon by the end of the decade.The plan to land a man on the moon, let alone by 1970, sounded like such a fairy tale. 

Trying to achieve such a goal sounded foolish given we had nothing to go on about space and rockets and lunar landers and even if a human being could live in the environs of outer space. Everything was just one big fat question mark. Only brilliant, courageous, determined, hard-working men and women could pull it off. AND they did! For all of us! We couldn't take our eyes off our TV's watching NASA's every planned step that would land us on the moon. 

Frances "Poppy" Northcutt was a part of the team on that mission to the moon in the 1960's. As the first woman engineer to work in NASA's Mission Control, her job was to calculate the return-to-Earth trajectories.  In the video below, Poppy talks about how the simulations with the astronauts in the capsule located in the building, not in space, tested everyone with training exercises. She was actually surprised at how well the actual Apollo 11flight went after having worked through so many possibilities of failure.

Image by Pexels from Pixabay 

The moon landing is one of the most significant events in the 20th century and one that brought all Americans together cheering for the amazing outcome of Neil Armstrong actually climbing down the 3.5 foot long ladder to leave his footprint on the moon's surface. Next, astronaut Buzz Aldrin joined him on the ground and planted the American flag.

VIDEO: 

Apollo 11 mission control's Poppy Northcutt on being "part of history," 1969

Congratulations to those who made this what seemed an improbable mission a reality! Congratulations to the NASA Team USA!!

Author Barbara Ehrentreu: Using Stories from My Life, YA Romance After

YA contemporary romance, After by Barbara Ehrentrau

Give a hardy welcome to one of Girl Succeed's favorite authors, Barbara Ehrentreu. Barbara recently released a touching story that will resonate with readers. She used her own life experiences in writing this emotion-packed book, After.

Using Stories from My Life by Barbara Ehrentreu

In my own case I started After during NaNoWriMo (a challenge for writers to complete a 50,000 word novel in 30 days in November) and didn’t finish it, because I was visiting my husband every day in the hospital and his condition got a little worse. So I wasn’t thinking about my writing at that time. But a few years later I picked it up again and decided to rewrite it. This book has gone through many rewrites mainly to get the emotional impact right. Since it is about my own husband, who passed away in May of this year, and I was in the middle of editing it at the time, the editing was very difficult for me. However, as I kept working on it I was able to distance myself from this experience. Also having written it made me realize how it helped me to go back over those events and in some ways it was a way to help myself during that time. 

I hope you will decide to read After, because anyone who has dealt with someone in the hospital no matter your age has gone through what Lauren experiences here. Plus, and I don’t want to give away anything, but there is a beautiful love story here and of course a mean girl.

It shows how despite a life changing experience, someone can be helped by it and go on to succeed in her life. 

You may read the entire article, Writing About Your Own Life, on the J.Q. Rose blog

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After, YA Romance

After is a story about the struggles Lauren Walstein, a fifteen-year-old girl, has to go through when her father suddenly has a heart attack and undergoes bypass surgery. In one phone call her life changes completely. Lauren is a character with whom most teens will relate. Her best friend since kindergarten, Joey, is going out with her enemy and they have grown apart. Before the phone call all she thought about was getting a scholarship for softball, and the Mets. Suddenly she must deal with both her father’s illness and being in school. The demands on her from both ends complicate the story. In the middle of all this, she finds she is developing feelings for her best friend that are more than friendly. Is he feeling the same or is he just comforting her? In addition there is Joey’s mean girl friend Amber, who doesn’t appreciate Lauren being in the picture. Will Lauren’s father recover? How will Lauren cope with her new feelings for Joey?

Buy Links for After - MuseItUp Publishing,  Amazon, Nook

About Barbara:

Barbara Ehrentreu grew up in Brooklyn and moved to Queens. She has lived and taught in Long Island, Buffalo, NY and Westchester, NY as well as a year in Los Angeles, CA. She has a Masters Degree in Reading and Writing. Currently she is retired from

YA author, Barbara Ehrentreu

 teaching and living in Stamford, CT with her family. If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor won second prize in Preditors & Editors as Best Young Adult Book for 2011. It was inspired by Paula Danziger for her children's writing workshop at Manhattanville College. Her second book, After, considers what can happen to a teen when her father becomes ill with a heart attack. It is based on her own experiences when her husband had a heart attack and the aftermath of what she and her family experienced. She is preparing the sequel to If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor. Barbara also writes poetry and several of her poems are published in the anthologies, Prompted: An International Collection of Poetry, Beyond the Dark Room, Storm Cycle and Backlit Barbell. She has a blog, Barbara's Meanderings, and she hosts a radio show on Blog Talk Radio, Red River Radio Tales from the Pages once a month.

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Video: A Pep Talk from Kid President

I just discovered these amazing videos by this little boy who has uplifting, fun messages for all of us. He is on the Soul Pancake channel at Youtube.com. 

The Kid President has a Pep Talk in this video. He has a lot of wisdom for a little kid. "It's everybody's duty to give the world a reason to dance." 

Kids do have a lot to give to the world. And like he says, '"We're all on the same team, aren't we?" 

Yes, we are, Kid President. We're on the team to use our lives to make the world better. 

Thanks so much for sharing your message! Watch the video now.

Video

A Pep Talk from Kid President

Did you like the video? How can we make the world a better place for everyone? Leave a comment below with your thoughts.

Be sure to leave your email so you can be notified when a new post is up at the Girls Succeed! blog. Thank you.

Dream Big Artwork by Julie Ann McKevitt

Image courtesy of artist Julie Ann McKevitt

Isn't this an amazing paintng with a powerful message? 

DREAM BIG! 

The image encouragesyou to believe in yourself because you can do anything you dream you can do. Dreams do become reality! Look at the people on American Idol, The Voice, and so many other shows. Look at the women in the Girls Succeed! book. They all had big dreams and made them come true. You can too!!

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When I saw this painting on Julie Ann McKevitt's Facebook page, I asked her if she would allow me to post it here on the Girls Succeed blog. This artwork captured the whole idea behind this blog and all the energy and enthusiasm girls exude. I did a happy dance when she said "Yes." 

I was pleased to discover Julie had painted and donated this beautiful wall hanging to Jesse's House, an emergency and long term shelter for at-risk girls ages 7-17. What an inspirational message to share with them and with all of you. 

Thank you, Julie!

March is National Women's History Month

National Women’s History Month 2014 Celebrating Women of Character, Courage, and Commitment
Women Inspiring Innovation through Imagination

Each year, March is designated as National Women’s History Month to ensure that the history of American women will be recognized and celebrated in schools, workplaces, and communities throughout the country. 

This year’s theme, Celebrating Women of Character, Courage, and Commitment,honors the extraordinary and often unrecognized determination and tenacity of women. Against social convention and often legal restraints, women have created a legacy that expands the frontiers of possibility for generations to come. They have demonstrated their character, courage and commitment as mothers, educators, institution builders, business, labor, political and community leaders, relief workers, women religious, and CEOs. Their lives and their work inspire girls and women to achieve their full potential and encourage boys and men to respect the diversity and depth of women’s experience.

The lives and work of the 2014 Women of Character, Courage and CommitmentHonorees span the centuries of American history and come from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds.  National Women’s History Month 2014 provides an excellent opportunity to honor women and their accomplishments 

Chipeta (1843 – 1924)
Indian Rights Advocate and Diplomat  Chipeta was a Ute Indian leader, diplomat, and peacemaker who used her influence with Chief Ouray (her husband) to avert a war between the Ute tribe and the White settlers. In 1880 she was included in a Ute delegation to negotiate a reservation resettlement treaty in Washington DC.

Anna Julia Cooper (1858 –1964) African American Educator and Author Anna J. Cooper was an author, educator, speaker, and among the leading intellectuals of her time. Born into enslavement, she wrote A Voice from the South (published in 1892), widely considered one of the first articulations of Black feminism.

Agatha Tiegel Hanson, (1873–1959)  Educator,  Author, and Advocate for Deaf Community Agatha Tiegel Hanson was a teacher, poet, and advocate for the deaf community. In 1893 she became the first woman to graduate from Gallaudet University. Her valedictorian speech argued for the recognition of the intellect of women, a cause she advocated throughout her career.

Katharine Ryan Gibbs (1863 – 1934) Women’s Employment PioneerKatharine Ryan Gibbs founded the Gibbs Schools (1911), providing women with high-level secretarial training and the opportunity to earn their own incomes. Her schools quickly expanded, opening branches near many ivy-league universities, and effectively establishing secretarial work as a desirable occupation.

Frances Oldham Kelsey (1914 – Present)
Pharmacologist and Public Health Activist  
Frances Oldham Kelsey is a pharmacologist who, while working at the FDA, refused to authorize thalidomide for market (a drug that later proved to cause severe birth defects). She went on to help establish the rules for clinical trials and directed the surveillance of drug testing at the FDA.  

Roxcy Bolton  (1926 – Present) 20th Century Women’s Rights Pioneer Roxcy Bolton is a lifetime advocate and activist for women’s rights. She founded Florida’s first battered women’s shelter (1972) and the nation’s first hospital-based Rape Treatment Center (1974). Her extensive work includes lobbying for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment and convincing NOAA to name hurricanes after both women and men.

Arden Eversmeyer (1931 – Present) The Old Lesbian Herstory Project, Founder
Arden Eversmeyer founded the Old Lesbian Oral Herstory Project (1999), to ensure that the stories of lesbians born in the first part of the 20th century, who were labeled “mentally ill”, fired from their jobs, rejected by their families, and even raped and murdered with impunity, are recorded in history. 

Carmen Delgado Votaw (1935- Present)
International Women’s Rights Activist Carmen Delgado Votaw is a leading advocate for girls and women’s rights both nationally and internationally. She served on the International Women’s Year Committee, worked with the first United Nations Conference on Women, and has significantly influenced the advancement of women in Latin America.

Ann Lewis (1937- Present)
Women’s Rights Organizer and Women’s History Advocate
Ann Lewis is a leader of progressive political reform focusing on the importance of civic involvement, health-care reform, economic and work-family policies, and international and national women’s rights. She served as a White House Communication Director and is a national commentator on public policy.

Jaida Im (1961 – Present)
Advocate for Survivors of Human Trafficking
Jaida Im founded Freedom House (2010), the first residential shelter and aftercare program for adult female survivors of human trafficking in Northern California. In 2013, Freedom House opened a similar shelter for girls. The organization already has served hundreds of survivors, offering holistic case management, counseling, and educational and job-training resources.

Tammy Duckworth (1968 - Present)
Member of Congress and Iraq War Veteran  Tammy Duckworth is an Iraq War veteran and US Representative from Illinois. Recognized for her commitment to serving veterans with disabilities, she seeks mandatory government funding of veterans’ healthcare and improvements in transition assistance. She is the first woman with a disability elected to the House of Representatives.

Lisa Taylor (1974-Present)
Civil Rights Attorney Lisa Taylor is a civil rights attorney for the Department of Justice where she has enforced the rights of HIV victims, autistic children, and educational opportunities for minority students. As a Naval Officer she challenged sexual harassment and aided in establishing her ship’s first anti-harassment program. 

For more information about these Honorees or National Women’s History Month, visit www.nwhp.org or email nwhp@nwhp.org or call (707)-636-2888.  For promotional materials. Visit Theme and Celebration materials in our webstore. 

This article provided by the National Women's History Month website.

Review of Dream Shade by Heather Fraser Brainerd--YA Paranormal Mystery Romance

Young Adult Paranormal Mystery Romance

Here's a summary of the story:
As if high school wasn't tough enough, sophomore Sarah Pasmore has one extra little problem: ghosts have started appearing to Sarah and they seem to want something from her. With help from her brainy best friend, as well as a few new friends (including the hottest guy in school), Sarah must solve the mystery of what the spirits want in order to put them back to rest. To complicate matters further, a more evil spirit will go to great lengths to make sure this doesn’t happen. As they investigate the past to unravel this supernatural mystery, the teens learn a lesson in the powers of friendship and love.

Review:
I don't like ghosts unless it's Casper, the friendly ghost. But because I enjoy Heather Brainerd's storytelling, I decided to try Dream Shade. I was not disappointed. Brainerd skillfully handled mixing a contemporary teen story with a Victorian era ghost story. What a brilliant juggling act to develop these characters and settings. The interaction between her family seemed so typical and contemporary and very entertaining. Sara, the main character, also had to deal with being a teen and meeting the cute guy she always dreamed of. She involved her friends to help her sort out these crazy dreams of ghosts, and what a romp we enjoy as we read the story of the kids uncovering who the ghosts are and what they want. It kept me reading to find out how this talented author could wrap up all these story lines and deliver a satisfaction ending. She did all of that and with lots of humor too!

Dream Shade is now available at MuseItUp Publishing, Amazon, and all major online booksellers.

ABOUT HEATHER

Heather Fraser Brainerd is a renaissance woman. After earning a degree in Anthropology, she embarked on an incongruous career as a workers’ compensation insurance adjuster. 

                                                                                                                                                                            

She rapidly climbed the claims-handling ladder before surprising her colleagues by leaving the high-powered world of lumbar strains and carpal tunnel syndrome to run a child care center. Thousands of dirty diapers and gallons of strained peas later, she decided that maybe the insurance industry wasn’t quite as bad as she remembered. It was. Fortunately, a few brief years into that second stint, she was swept off her feet by the most wonderful man in the world. Now a stay-home mom to three amazing boys, she is able, at long last, to focus on her writing. In addition to her fictional explorations, she writes a foodie column for the Rochester magazine Citizen. Heather lives in New York with her family and their crazy pug/terrier.

Connect online with Heather

Heather's blog

Heather's Disney blog

Facebook 

twitter.com/HFBrainerd

Happy Valentine's Day 2013! Here's my Valentine Gift to You

Happy Valentine's Day 2013

Dear Readers,

My valentine gift to you this year will be books you will love to read. I am lining up guest authors for interviews about their books, excerpts from their books, and prizes. I also will be reading tween and YA books to review here at the Girls Succeed blog.

• Do you have a favorite author you would like to learn about and/or the story behind your favorite book? 

• Do you want to write a review of your favorite book so you can tell the world about the story and why you like it?

Please leave a comment below to tell me or send an email to

girlssucced (at) blogspot (dot) com

or to jqrose02 (at) gmail (dot) com

To get the discussion going, please vote in the poll in the sidebar...do you prefer to read e-books or print books? Thanks for participating!!

Video: The Joy of Books

Enjoy this delightful video, The Joy of Books, filled with dancing books and whimsical music.

 I imagine you are a reader and love to escape into a fantastic story with characters you love and hate. I will be sharing books and their authors this year on the Girls Succeed blog. Please visit to discover some great books and the stories behind the authors who write them.