To End

I have lived with the women in this book for three years while writing their stories. Brave, clever, and spirited, I feel I know them well by now, and have grown to love them. I shake my head in wonder at their remarkable lives.

But, these are only eleven remarkable lives. Each one has made me curious to keep reading.

Following Sei’s example, I have made a list of my own.

Things I want to know more about:

• Japanese footwear
• The first dentist in Australia
• The whereabouts of the slave girl brought home from Copang
• Painted portraits of African Americans
• The popularity of swans on supper menus
• Cannibals
• Monkeys as pets
• Life as a governess
• How Wrangel Island will be affected by climate change
• Snakes in Vietnam
• Aboriginal people still living in the Australian bush

What would you put on your list? What are you curious about? What will your own story be? Get scribbling …