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In this timely text, Jamila Bookwala and Nicky J. Newton, two researchers in the area of personality development and psychosocial health in adulthood, bring that expertize to their work as editors of an informative volume of autobiographical accounts by pioneering women psychologists working in America. The book is timely because of the potentially deleterious effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on gains in gender equity and professional success in academic psychology. The 26 women who contribute personal narratives are currently in the late stages of their careers. This timing means that they frequently completed their graduate work during the 1970s: An era of feminist activism that had a substantial impact on the discipline of psychology. Women in a range of sub-disciplines write frank and reflective accounts that will serve as rich primary source material for historians of psychology, particularly those engaged in exploring in the impact of feminist work on the field. The widespread gender and women's studies programs that developed during the women's liberation movement of the 1970s shaped the career trajectories of many of the contributors. Several of the authors were implementers of interdisciplinary women's studies programs and active in establishing the psychology of women and gender as a subfield (e.g., Susan Basow, Joan Christler, Kay Deaux, Florence Denmark, Irene Frieze, Jeanne Marecek, Stephanie Shields, and Abigail J. Stewart). A theme that emerges clearly from the text is the importance of collaborations and networks outside of the women's home departments and institutions in sustaining and developing meaningful psychological work. Several contributors mention the vital role that membership in APA's Division 35 (Psychology of Women) played in connecting them with like-minded feminist psychologists and mentors. In addition, women's studies programs often gave the contributors opportunities to connect with scholars outside of psychology. As Abigail J. Stewart notes, “Having a home in women's studies helped, because it embraced a more politically activist form of pedagogy” (p. 313). The book is replete with specific examples of how working with interdisciplinary groups of scholars was instrumental in generating transformative contributions to psychology. For example, Stephanie Shields describes how contact with Black Feminist Studies drew her attention to the absence of analysis of inequalities in structural power in psychology and the usefulness of importing the concept of intersectionality for study of the full complexity of social identity positions. This recurring theme is a timely reminder of the value of women's and gender studies programs currently under pressure in an era of budget cuts in academia. Consideration of intersectionality raises the question of inclusion of traditionally underrepresented BIPOC groups. Two of the 26 women, Diana Slaughter Kotzin and Margaret Beale Spencer, self-identify as Black, and one, Marigold Linton, self-identifies as American Indian. This small percentage of the autobiographies is nevertheless informative about the experiences of underrepresented groups within academic psychology. Linton was the first person from a California reservation to leave the reservation for college. Her lack of confidence in making the transition is captured by her anecdote that after receiving her first semester grades she reported to the registrar that they had made a mistake: the straight A transcript could not possibly be hers. Linton did not come from a position of privilege and had to work hard to figure out how to succeed in “the white man's world” (p. 180); she then used her earned power to open up access to higher education for the next generation of American Indian students. Instances of both racially and gender-based discrimination are set out with force: Kotzin experienced discrimination when she relocated to Northwestern: she discovered that the university was withholding a letter of support needed for the mortgage of “Spinster Diana T. Slaughter” because they were not paying her enough to afford it. Kotzin resolved the situation with the help of an attorney and learned that she had to fight for what she wanted. Sadly, we learn in Bookwala and Newton's conclusion that a planned contributor of Asian descent, Jean Lau Chin, a former president of Division 35, died during the pandemic before completing her manuscript; they provide a few choice selections from her draft in their conclusion. In addition to feminist psychologists, another group that is well represented is health psychologists concerned with well-being and healthy aging (e.g., Carolyn Aldwin, Rachel Pruchno, Karen Rook, Carol Ryff, Susan Krauss Whitbourne, and Camille Wortmann). This gives access to women's life histories in an area that is less well documented in existing sources such as Psychology's Feminist Voices (PFV), Alexandra Rutherford and colleagues' rich website (Rutherford, 2023). Nineteen of the women featured in Bookwala and Newton's text are not represented in PFV because their major focus was not feminist psychology. Another potential audience for this text is younger scholars. The contributors provide plenty of pithy advice for people embarking on a career in psychology. Denmark advises saying yes to every opportunity; in a nice connection between chapters, Christler notes that this piece of advice from Denmark was responsible for much of her success, as well as much of her personal stress. Others strike a different note with reflections on the importance of finding a life–work balance, as Fiske articulates, “You may love your work, but it can't love you back” (p. 124). Bookwala and Newton's text complements other collections of eminent women psychologists' autobiographies, such as the volumes edited by O'Connell (2001), O'Connell and Russo (1983, 1988, 2001) that focus on an earlier generation. Denmark is the only overlap between this text and those in O'Connell and Russo's volumes. Bookwala and Newton aimed to include a rich diversity of voices, and accurately conclude that they have been able to meet that goal in many ways, yet recognize that they do “not fully represent scholars … grossly underrepresented in academia for a number of reasons other than gender” (p. 350). One important area that they hope will be taken up by other scholars is representation of more gender fluid and nonbinary individuals with a greater variety of sexual orientations. They urge that “we must not leave these stories untold. We must not let time run out” (p.350). Bookwala and Newton have done a service to the field of psychology by creating a collection of reflections from some pioneering women that might otherwise have been untold, and by pointing towards a more inclusive future history.
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