A Tribute to Carolyn Heilbrun

I recently read Carolyn G. Heilbrun's "The Last Gift of Time: Life Beyond Sixty" (Ballantine, 1997), but I have found myself hesitating to write about the book, and about the author, for fear of not being able to do justice to this wise feminist scholar and heroine. But I must try, because she is someone I admire tremendously; she wrote brilliantly about literature and about women, and was a pioneer in so many ways. This particular book is full of clear-eyed, honest wisdom about getting older, covering topics like long marriages, young friends, dogs, email, England, family, sadness, losses and gains. All of her books have been gifts to readers, especially women readers: scholarly but accessible, brilliant, fierce, feminist, humane, and informed by her deep knowledge of, and great love of, literature. So many of her books -- including "Toward a Recognition of Androgyny," "Reinventing Womanhood," "Writing a Woman's Life," and "Hamlet's Mother and Other Women," have been groundbreaking. And on top of writing these wonderful scholarly works, she wrote a series of entertaining, pointedly feminist mysteries under the pseudonym of Amanda Cross. She was one of the first women faculty in the Columbia University English Department, and she had to fight to be recognized there. After a long career and, eventually, great success there, she resigned in protest of the sexist treatment of other women faculty there. She also had a long marriage and raised three children. I was fortunate enough to hear her speak once, perhaps 25 years ago, and was in awe of her intellect, her originality, and her great focus on the fight for equity for women. I -- along with many other admirers -- was so sad when she died a few years ago, but the legacy of this strong and brilliant woman will live on for a long time. Thank you, Carolyn Heilbrun, for the joys of reading your amazing work, and for being such a brave and inspiring writer and woman.