For Forest Park author Kathryn J. Atwood, writing about World War I’s heroines was both educational and inspiring.
“I was surprised that there were so many women involved in different facets of the war,” said Atwood, author of “Women Heroes of World War I: 16 Remarkable Resisters, Soldiers, Spies and Medics” (Chicago Review Press), a follow-up to her earlier book, “Women Heroes of World War II.” “I’m hoping to provide teen girls with some good role models by writing about ordinary people who became extraordinary because they made difficult but courageous choices.” Following is an edited conversation:
Q: Why do you write books on women in history?
A: You can think of history, all the events that have taken place at a certain time, like an iceberg: Only a fraction of it appears above water after (time) has passed. And most of the history that shows above water, so to speak, has to do with men. Looking at the same slice of history from the perspective of the women’s stories gives a more complete look at the entire time period.
I’d like to stimulate teen girls to become more interested in history by featuring stories of women from certain time periods. I was an undermotivated student in my early teen years so I tend to write with my younger self in mind, hoping to light the interest of similar readers.
Q: What surprised you most during your research?
A: To find there were women soldiers, the all-women combat unit called the “Women’s Battalion of Death” in Russia (hundreds of Russian women were trained to fight like men). That was incredible. … In Russia, most of the front-line soldiers were serfs, so they were used to sharing an equal workload with women. They didn’t find it strange.
Q: Do you have a favorite in the book?
A: They’re all great but I like the story of Gabrielle Petit the best. She was a young woman from Belgium who had a troubled childhood and she really found herself when the war began, and British intelligence asked her to work for them. She was eventually discovered and during her arrest, imprisonment and execution, she was extremely combative and defiant. She refused to be blindfolded when they shot her. She rises as a phoenix from the ashes and proves to be an inspiration to the Belgians (when their country was) occupied by the Germans during WWII.
Q: What’s next for you?
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A: I think I’ll go back to World War II for my next project. There are so many other inspiring women I couldn’t include in the first book so I’m going to see if I can write a second volume of women heroes of World War II.
Atwood will sign her book at 2 p.m.Aug. 3 at the Forest Park Public Library, 7555 Jackson Blvd., 708-366-7171. Find additional signings at chicagoreviewpress.com.