“Leaving … Sometimes You Have to Leave”

“Leaving”
A Story of Resilience & Resourcefulness
by Janet Steele Holloway

Excerpt: “A girl in West Virginia’s got only three choices.” Granny squinted at me across the bar. “She can get religion, get pregnant or get out. Do you understand me, little girl?” I twirled on the bar stool, drinking an RC Cola, as she wiped the counter top and picked up empty beer bottles. I understood her alright; I’d heard her say this – and other life lessons – at least a dozen times in my young life. I shook my head and she pointed at me directly. “I hope you do, ‘cause you don’t have much else to go on.” A tough, resilient, divorced and widow-woman for more than 40 years, she was watching out for my welfare, showing me what I’d need to be a strong woman.

Kirkus Reviews: “The successful founder of [Women Leading Kentucky] describes her rise from humble roots in [her second book], Leaving. Holloway is at her best when her self-reflection reaches deep…for example…she breaks down how the ingrained social ideal of women as wives caused her to repeatedly sabotage herself without realizing it. This memoir is a remembrance of an engaging life that has several high points ….”

Review: “This is more than a memoir; insights into the way past experience influences psychology are wrapped in a delightful amalgamation of stories and dialogue.” – Dr. Lois Frankel, Author: Ageless Women, Timeless Wisdom and Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office