About Molly Mahoney Matthews

Biography

My life as single parent took me from the pink gulag of a public relation’s Gal Friday job to founding my own company in the health communications field.  It was not easy for those of us in the first generation of women who marched into the office expecting equal treatment.  We knew it was best to keep the photos of our kids inside the desk drawers.  We didn’t want our bosses to think of us as mothers and the photos reminded us that part of our hearts were still back with the kids, wherever we had left them.

I was afraid, dismissed, harassed and heartbroken (usually from the men but occasionally from taking a losing position in an office political battle.)  I wished I had had a book to help me believe I could make it during those down and out days when I wanted to crawl under the desk in my gray cubicle, curl up in a fetal position and suck my thumb. 

I did survive those early demeaning jobs, the relationships that ended badly, the guilt of divorce and the constant striving to make the world safe and good for my children.  Along the way I built a successful company, found romance, raised great kids and continue to this day to sort out how a woman balances achievement, mothering, love and life. I learned a lot and I want to pass it along to my readers.  If I could do it, so can they.

In addition to over 2 decades in the field of social marketing and health communication I have worked for various public relations agencies and as the Director of Public Education at Children’s Hospital National Medical Center.  I have a B.S. in psychology from Hamline University and an M.A. in communications from the University of Maryland. 

About My Great Book

At first I was reticent to tell people I was writing a memoir.  At best, it sounded pretentious.  I took a class at the www.writer.org in Bethesda, Maryland where I felt completely out of place since, unlike me, everyone else could write. But out of that class came the core group that formed us.  We were all at about the same stage, we had each had committed to rough drafts of material that would be book-length.

I’m not sure if others believed in their books back then, but for me in those first few sessions, I was in “fake it til you make it” mode.  Slowly this group of writers gave me confidence and honest reactions to my writing that was instructive but never critical.  Everyone keeps the commitment to 3-hour meetings twice a month and invests the significant amount of time it takes to submit work and review the work of others.

Because of these five colleagues, who have become dear friends, I can say with confidence: I AM writing a memoir.

Comments

[Grant Martin]

First off, great photo! Congratulations on getting in on what looks like an entertaining and informative blog. I'll check back often.