The Unlocked Path – An Author Event with Janis Daly
At the Harrison Public Library from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on August 6, meet author Janis Daly and hear her discuss her novel, The Unlocked Path. A question-and-answer session will follow, and registration is recommended. (Visit www.harrisonpl.org/events/12254490 to register.)
After a career in sales and marketing and raising two boys active in sports, right through the college level, author Janis Daly asked the age-old question, Now what? She didn’t spend long looking for her answer. She found it within the return hits from a genealogy search on her great-great-grandfather, William S. Peirce, Esq. From FamousAmericans.net: He took an active part in founding the Woman’s Medical College in Philadelphia.
Inspired by that line, more research ensued, and a story and characters formed. The early graduates of the Woman’s Medical College have remained in the shadows. Their stories needed to be told. With a love of history, she balanced a need for authenticity and details with a flair to create emotional connections to fictional characters.
Janis grew up outside of Boston and remained in Massachusetts, graduating with a B.A. in Psychology from Wheaton College, at the time, an all-women’s college. At Wheaton, she developed a fond appreciation of the supportive relationships established between students, faculty, and alumnae and a heightened awareness of female-centric issues. Both directed her writing of The Unlocked Path.
About Book
The Unlocked Path presents and embraces a “New Woman” of the early 20th century: educated, career-minded, independent. In 1897 Philadelphia, after witnessing her aunt’s suicide, Eliza Edwards vows to find ways to help and heal. Rejecting her mother’s wishes for her society debut, Eliza enters medical college at a time when only five percent of doctors are female. With the support of a circle of women and driven by a determination to conquer curriculum demands, battle sexism, and overcome doubts, Eliza charts a new life course. Combining science and sympathy, can she triumph to heal others and herself?