Great women you should know

Jane Fonda in Five Acts

Ever since I saw the documentary about Jane Fonda’s life, I have had new respect for her.

Jane Fonda in Five Acts (documentary, 2018 by Susan Lacy) blew me away. It’s a bit long, but thankfully so is the life of Jane Fonda. I’m impressed by how many different experiences she has had. Sure, many of them were attached to rich and powerful men. But Jane has been her own dynamic force in the world since she became an activist in the 60s. After I saw it, I couldn’t stop thinking about how we can have wildly different chapters in our lives, and how Jane gives me permission to speak up and take a stand for my values.

Last week, Jane was on one of my favorite podcasts, ON with Kara Swisher. I’d just been writing this Boost and the next morning I got to listen to their conversation, How to Turn Rage into Hope. It felt like a fun synchronicity.

If you want to see more Jane Fonda, check out the French film All Together (2011 Stéphane Robelin) In French it’s et si on vivait tous ensemble. I watched this entire movie some years ago and didn’t realize it was Jane (speaking French!) until the end.

GREAT movie about a group of friends – septegenarians – who decide to take their lives into their own hands and move in together.

Other great women you should know

Speaking of amazing American women speaking French, you must see A Private Life with Jodie Foster.(2026 Rebecca Zlotowski) In French, it’s une vie privée. I loved this movie so much. Great in so many ways, and I adore anything featuring a therapist. Give me a French psychological drama any day, and I will be happy.

Tami Palmer and I have been internet friends for a while now. She writes novels and leads writing retreats, and now she’s launched a podcast, The Intention Podcast with Tami Palmer. I was honored to be her first guest, where we talked about living a creative life, Big Magic, and the spiritual aspects of creativity.

Helen Hiebert is a fascinating Colorado paper artist and teacher. Her newsletter, The Sunday Paper, is full of interesting things Helen is doing in the world of art made with paper. Her new book, Weaving with Paper, features 30 paper weaving projects.

The book also includes insights from artists on maintaining a daily practice. I contributed to this with my counterintuitive advice (pages 62 and 69).

There’s a new magazine by Rachel Allen and Solveig Petch, The Bigger Picture. The first edition – a lovely paperback – theme is Thinking Bigger. What a gorgeous magazine featuring people doing what they love, and doing it big! I am honored to have been featured in the inaugural edition.