coorain – Scott J. Pearson’s Book Review

A Woman’s Education: The Road from Coorain Leads to Smith College

By Scott J. Pearson | December 19, 2019September 24, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

Jill Ker Conway has left us with quite a trilogy of autobiographies. In so doing, she has divided her life into thirds – growing up on the Australian outback, coming of age in North-American academe, and gaining a feminist voice as president of the elite Smith College. This work examines her experiences at Smith College. She poured her soul into learning to articulate an authentically feminine institutional voice in a world of coeducation. Instead of…

Biography-Memoir

The Road from Coorain

By Scott J. Pearson | December 9, 2019December 8, 2019 by Scott J. Pearson

Few things seem further from North America than Australia. Not only is it half-a-world away, but the culture varies dramatically. Conway grew up in the back-country of Australia where she often did not regularly see other families and neighbors were tens-of-miles away. That simple start, told as well as it is in this book, sparks the reader’s interest. The fact that she ended up at Harvard by the end of the book should pique even…

Biography-Memoir

True North: A Memoir

By Scott J. Pearson | November 28, 2019November 28, 2019 by Scott J. Pearson

Jill Ker Conway, the first female Vice President of a Canadian university, details her journey from her arrival in Boston as a Fulbright Scholar to her acceptance of the role of president of Smith College. In this tale, she serves as an inspirational figure not just to women but to all with great challenges to overcome. Conway was the daughter of a determined yet domineering mother in the Australian outback. As such, her flight to…