They tried to bury us. They didn't know we were seeds.
-- Unknown (chapter 1)

Importance: This epigraph, a Mexican proverb, encapsulates both the narrative of the women's movement of the 1960s and 1970s and Jo and Bethie Kauffman, the two women whose personal narratives are included within the time line of that movement. The activists of the women's movement will face resistance as they fight to earn professional and personal equality for women. Their victories are not immediate, but, like a seed, their movement grows and its fruits sustain future generations of women who may not know to whom they are indebted for their professional and personal freedoms. Though they participate in the women's movement to varying degrees, the Kauffman sisters face personal hardships such as lack of professional opportunities, the illegality of same sex marriage, and sexual assault. Like seeds in depleted soil, they grow and flourish despite their lack of personal and...