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The Arc
The Beginning
I was born in 1963, a white country farm girl from Westford, Vermont, growing up alongside five siblings and five cousins, all of us running wild through the rolling hills. In my memoir, I share the circumstances that led me to enlist in the U.S. Army at 18, the personal experiences of sexual abuse that shaped me, and the rigid gender roles I unknowingly rejected. I also confront the role alcoholism played in driving many of my early choices, setting the stage for the journey that followed.
The Army Life
I adapted to the culture and became "one of the boys," effortlessly drinking and bantering alongside them. Though I experienced sexual harassment and assault, I didn’t see it as a barrier to my success—I simply pushed forward. Any humiliation or pain from those experiences, I packed away like extra weight in my backpack and kept marching.
Finding My Purpose
Getting sober and stepping into leadership in Equal Opportunity and Diversity, I discovered my true passion. My own past trauma made me take reports of discrimination even more seriously—I couldn’t just process cases and move on; I wanted to prevent the harm before it happened. But those in power had a vested interest in maintaining the status quo, resisting any real effort to combat sexism. It was a battle I couldn’t ignore, and a journey I knew I had to document.