Women of Maine profiled in new book

FINDING THEIR OWN VOICES: MAINE WOMEN AT THE MILLENNIUM: THEIR STORIES, text and photographs by James Andrew Mitchell, Down East Books, Camden, 2002, 144 pages, paperback, $14.95.

Camden writer and photographer James Andrew Mitchell set out three years ago to compile the life stories of women who live and work in Maine. He sought out women “who could be accessible role models.”

In this slim volume, he profiled 32 women born between 1932 and 1968. He organized their stories in broad occupational categories ranging from agriculture and fishing to business, art and nonprofit organizations.

Although Mitchell states in his introduction that he sought out women who weren’t highly visible, the list includes best-selling author Linda Greenlaw and Chellie Pingree, who ran for the U.S. Senate in November. About half of those profiled were born in Maine, while the others chose to live and work here. The vast majority are middle-aged.

While Mitchell’s intentions were noble, the result is far from satisfying. He gleans too little information for readers to offer more than a glimpse of his subjects and a majority of the profiles lack depth. In the best ones, the writer tells the women’s stories in their own words, using direct quotes as several, such as Lynn Bromley of Portland, offer personal credos.

“Tune into yourself and figure out what it is that your body, mind and spirit want you to know. Develop your spiritual life … because when things get tough, and they will, you need a place to go.

“However you nurture your spirit – whether by fishing or praying or fluting, whatever is a nurturing, loving spiritual presence – make that place larger in you life. You need to know where that place is and go there a lot,” Bromley, a state senator, told Mitchell.

Yet, in seeking out adversity in the lives of his subjects so he could write about what they’d overcome, the author sometimes pried too deeply into their personal lives. Mitchell seems far more interested in their relationships with parents, siblings and spouses than in their careers and their life philosophies.

His black-and-white portraits run the gamut from insightful – the picture of long-distance trucker Anneliese Francis astride her motorcycle – to the dull shot of Sheila Tasker of Tenants Harbor, the former president of the Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockport. The quality of the photo reproduction also is uneven, and nearly half of them are muddy and look slightly out of focus.

What Mitchell did best was choose the women profiled in his book. So far, all have enjoyed and struggled through fascinating life journeys. All have lived inspiring lives that undoubtedly could encourage others, but Mitchell’s writing style dulls rather than sharpens their stories and accomplishments.

“Finding Their Own Voices” would have been a much better book if the author had used more of these women’s words and far fewer of his own.