Margaret Chase Smith was a bold, brave independent-minded woman. Margaret Chase Smith lived at a time when women were starting to get professional jobs outside of the home, and she took advantage of every opportunity that came her way to work hard and, ultimately ,to rise.

What was the most interesting fact about Margaret Chase Smith that you learned in your research?

One of my favorite stories that I learned while I was researching the book was about Margaret’s early years in the United States Senate. When she was there, she was only one of a handful of women in all the United States Congress. When she walked into a committee meeting room to meet with her fellow senators, the men who she was meeting with would stand up. They thought that was how you should treat a lady. You should stand up and give them due respect. But she didn’t want to be treated differently. She wanted to be treated as their equal. She needed to find a way to do so without insulting them, without embarrassing them. She didn’t want to tell them don’t stand up for me. She didn’t feel comfortable with that. She wanted to be treated as their colleague, as their equal. So she came up with a plan. The plan was she got to committee meetings extra early so that when the male senators would come in, she would already be seated at her seat, and they wouldn’t feel like they needed to treat her differently and stand up for her. Eventually, they got used to her being there; they got used to seeing her as their colleague, as somebody they could work with. In so doing, she completely changed their view of what women were capable of, what women could do, and the kind of work that they could do.

What is the biggest lesson you hope young readers take away from the book?

The biggest lesson I took away from Margaret Chase Smith is the power of independent thought. When Margaret first entered the Senate, there was a very powerful senator there named Joseph McCarthy, and he was a bully. He accused Americans of being traitors, of being un-American. Many people lost their jobs because of his accusations. Margaret knew that was wrong. She got up and spoke in front of the Senate, calling out his behavior, calling out his bullying, and saying what it was. That it was un-American. To accuse people that you don’t agree with of being un-American or of being traitors, that was wrong and she knew it. Even more experienced, much more powerful senators than her would not speak out against Joseph McCarthy, but she did because she knew it was the right thing to do.

How did you do the research for this biography?

Research is one of my favorite parts of the writing process. I love learning new information about the people and times and places that I write about. For this book, I read a lot of books about Margaret Chase Smith. I read articles about her. I visited her library online and looked at pictures and all kinds of biographical information they had about her. I studied her papers and her speeches and her voting record from when she was in the House of Representatives and the United States Senate. I also did research about the time in which she lived because I was interested in seeing just how far ahead of her she was.

What question would you ask Margaret Chase Smith if you had the chance to meet her?

If I had a chance to mee Margaret Chase Smith, I would ask her how did she get the courage, how did she get so brave to do things that were really, really hard and to take those kinds of risk. During my research, I read that just as she was beginning her speech in which she called out that bullying senator, Senator Joseph McCarthy, she was really nervous and her voice was shaky. But then she grew confident as she spoke, and I would like to ask her where did that courage come from. How did she know that it was worth it to take the risk to do the right thing. Where does that bravery come from? Where does that courage come from? I’d love to know more about that.

What does the Persisterhood mean to you?

The Persisterhood is a very special club that I feel so proud and so grateful to be a part of. All these brilliant writers writing about the most extraordinary courageous women. What an honor! What I found most interesting about being a part of this project is that all the women we are writing about are so different. They lived in different times. They came from different backgrounds, different ethnicities, different races. They had different callings. They were interested in a different kind of work. But they all shared in common a passion for their work. They all shared in common great courage and, of course, persistence against some of the most tough obstacles. And what’s exciting too about being part of the Persisterhood is that I’m excited to welcome you readers to it, because if you show courage and passion about your work, about your dreams, you can make them come true, and you too are part of the Persisterhood.