Susan Ware deftly chronicles the professional and private lives of seven notable women of our century. She shows how the creation or re-creation of their personae was an essential element in their success, whether they craved fame or chose a different lifestyle. She pays special attention to how they balanced their lives--married, single, or with partners, with or without children--to provide examples for today's women. All seven women chose to live exceptional and unconventional lives, offering other women examples of the ability to live beyond the limits imposed by society or family, to dream and strive, to be independent and fulfilled.