10 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
WOMEN
WEST
of
the
COLIN MURPHEY PHOTO
Marianne Monson’s book
“Frontier Grit” on display at
Lucy’s Books in Astoria
Marianne Monson, author of ‘Frontier Grit,’ shares stories
of overlooked pioneers for Women’s History Month
COURTESY MARIANNE MONSON
Marianne Monson’s upcom-
ing book, “Women of the Blue
& Gray: True Civil War Stories
of Mothers, Medics, Soldiers
and Spies,” is scheduled to be
published in fall 2018.
By HEATHER DOUGLAS
FOR COAST WEEKEND
WHERE TO SEE
MARIANNE MONSON
A
uthor Marianne Monson has re-
defined the word “pioneer” in her
recent book “Frontier Grit: The
Unlikely True Stories of Daring Pioneer
Women,” a collection of 12 mini-biogra-
phies about lesser-known women whose
stories have been overlooked in the
traditional male-centric narrative of the
American West.
Kicking off Women’s History month,
Monson will present a talk on Donaldi-
na Cameron, one of the stories featured
in “Frontier Grit,” at the Wit & Wisdom
Thursday Lecture Series at Fort George
Brewery 7 p.m. March 1 in the Lovell
Showroom.
Cameron was a New Zealand woman
who rescued Chinese women near the
turn of the 20th century in Chinatown,
San Francisco, when sex trafficking was
rampant.
“I felt a very deep connection with
her; she is absolutely one of my heroes,”
Monson said. “I want my own daughter to
grow up with those stories.”
Monson will also be speaking about
pioneer-era women at an Astoria Library
talk 3 to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 3, and
will finish with a book signing at Lucy’s
Books 5 to 8 p.m. March 10 during Asto-
ria’s Second Saturday Art Walk.
Monson remembers her own experience
learning about women’s history growing
up. “You would hear about three amazing
women — maybe Sacajawea, Betsy Ross
and Elizabeth Katie Stanton.
“It just gives you the impression — or
• Wit & Wisdom Thursday Lec-
ture Series, Fort George Brewery
Lovell Showroom (Duane and
14th streets), 7 p.m. March 1,
• Talk at Astoria Library (450 10th
St.), 3 to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 3
• “Frontier Grit” book signing,
Lucy’s Books (348 12th St.), 5 to
8 p.m. March 10, during Astoria’s
Second Saturday Art Walk
COLIN MURPHEY PHOTO
Marianne Monson at Lucy’s Books in Astoria
at least it gave me the impression — that
there were three cool women, and every-
one else stayed home,” she said, laughing.
Women’s contributions have historical-
ly been overlooked, undervalued and in-
tentionally and unintentionally suppressed,
she said. “It’s important that we put them
back into the narrative.”
Adventures into the unknown
When Monson’s editor at Shadow
Mountain Publishing first proposed the
idea of writing a nonfiction book about pi-
oneer women, Monson felt a little daunted
by the research but fascinated by the topic.
“My grandmother raised me on pioneer
stories,” she said. “She was a huge family
history buff and just a strong woman
herself. I gravitated towards the stories of
strong pioneer women in our family.”
One of the reasons Shadow Mountain
felt compelled to tell these stories is that
“western history is predominately told
from a male perspective,” said Heidi
Taylor Gordon, publishing manager at
Shadow Mountain, a Salt Lake City-based
company.
Monson’s first task was choosing
the women to write about. She combed
through old books and biographies looking
for women no one had heard of but who
had done amazing things nonetheless.
“I do love women like Sacajawea, but I
was specifically looking for women with-
out name recognition,” she said.
Monson also looked for women who
had gone on a physical journey as well as
a “tendency to push against boundaries,