Welcome!

... to the go-to location for details and updates about my upcoming memoir, BOOTSTRAP: A MONTANA ORPHAN'S RISE IN SILICON VALLEY.

Synopsis:

Orphaned at fifteen in rural Montana, I relied on the kindness of neighbors and a close friend to make it through high school. In the fall of 1976, I left Montana alone to become an electronics technician, eventually blazing a trail as the first woman to service CT/T scanners for San Francisco GE Medical and later as the first female hardware engineer at the networking pioneer, 3Com. My memoir, BOOTSTRAP, is a candid exploration of loss, grit, gender, and survival at the edges of American tech and society. Coming in the fall of 2026.



Bootstrap the Book is Coming Soon

Bootstrap is currently in the "fall cohort" at Roan & Weatherford Publishing. This means that, if everything goes according to plan, we'll have printed books before the end of the year. But much sooner than that, I'll have Advanced Reader eCopies (ARCs) for folks who like to help promote new books by writing a glowing review on Amazon and/or Good Reads. And a few months after the ARCs come out, you'll have the ability to pre-order printed copies. I'll have special deals for book clubs during Bootstrap's first year!

This is the time of year when I feel the most nostalgic. January is the double anniversary of my parents' passing, Mom in January 1974, and Dad in January 1967. I took this picture the last time I visited their graves near Harlowton, Montana. The snow-capped Crazy Mountains seemingly burst into the sky from the central plains, as grand as any Teton in Wyoming. This spectacular view is from their modest headstones. In my essay, Dragons Live Forever published by Pink Panther Magazine in March 2021, I describe an altar of remembrance I created to honor them. Observing death anniversaries is as important as observing celebrations. Death is as much part of life as breath. You can listen to me read the essay here. Or, read an electronic version of the article and magazine here.

Froggy Doo, pictured above, is a prominent character in Bootstrap. My mom purchased the 1971 sea foam green Toyota pickup before it was fashionable to own a foreign made car. Northwest Motors in Helena, Montana sold it to her brand new with a camper shell and radio for $2,600. It took me some time to warm up to the idea of a small truck but I soon saw the practical side of owning a vehicle that was good on gas and easy to navigate. Plus we threw a mattress and a camp stove in the back and made a house on wheels. But Froggy Doo meant more to me than freedom. The versatile vehicle provided a chance to know my reserved mother. Through spending time together in Montana's vast forests, lakes, and mountains, I learned to appreciate the quiet of the wild, and the quiet comfort of her presence. In Bootstrap the book, I reveal how Froggy Doo got its name. If you can't wait to find out, this article by the Greater Montana Foundation contains a very strong clue.