Heroes for My Daughter Read online

  HEROES FOR MY

  Daughter

  BRAD MELTZER

  To: ______________________________

  A gift from: ________________________

  DEDICATION

  For Lila,

  MY DAUGHTER,

  MY HERO

  CONTENTS

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Introduction

  Marie Curie

  Mallory Holtman and Liz Wallace

  Joan Ganz Cooney

  Audrey Hepburn

  Helen Keller

  Christopher Reeve

  Carol Burnett

  Amelia Earhart

  Alex Scott

  Abigail Adams

  Anne Frank

  Dorothy Day

  Judy Blume

  Sacajawea

  Theodore Roosevelt

  Julia Child

  Golda Meir

  Stevie Wonder

  Susan B. Anthony

  Nancy G. Brinker

  Clara Barton

  Sheila Spicer

  Winston Churchill

  Lisa Simpson

  Eleanor Roosevelt

  Tina Turner

  The Three Stooges

  Wangari Maathai

  Agatha Christie

  Leonardo da Vinci

  Dolly Parton

  Sojourner Truth

  Branch Rickey

  Lucille Ball

  Elizabeth Blackburn

  Ella Fitzgerald

  Mahatma Gandhi

  Mary Shelley

  Rochelle Shoretz

  Tank Man

  Billie Jean King

  The Heroes of United Flight 93

  Temple Grandin

  Rosa Parks

  Jane Goodall

  The Dalai Lama

  Abraham Lincoln

  Thurgood Marshall

  Dorothea Lange

  Hannah Senesh

  Randy Pausch

  Sally Ride

  Benjamin Franklin

  Wilma Rudolph

  Dotty Rubin

  Teri Meltzer

  Cori Flam Meltzer

  Who Is Your Hero?

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Other Works

  Credits

  Copyright

  Photo Credits

  About the Publisher

  INTRODUCTION

  Dear Lila, my sweet daughter,

  I love you. And yes, I know every parent loves their child. But not like I love you. Someday, you’ll roll your eyes and groan, “Dad, you’re embarrassing me.” But right now, you’re only six years old, so these days, you still smile your big beaming smile when I say things like that. And I point that out simply so that, when these days are gone, I’ll have proof they existed.

  On the day you were born, I remember your mom waking up at four o’clock in the morning, rolling over in bed, and telling me, “I think the baby’s coming.”

  “Go back to bed,” I pleaded. “It’s too early.”

  God bless your mother, she actually tried to go back to bed.

  But you—my little unborn daughter—had your own ideas. Believe me when I say that wouldn’t be the last time.

  At the hospital, the instant I saw you, my heart doubled in size. My own mother, your grandmother, told me at the time, “Now you’ll understand how I love you.”

  After giving us a few moments with you, the nurses did their usual weighing and measuring, and then said they wanted to whisk you off for your first bath.

  “I’m coming with you,” I told them, determined to protect you.

  They smiled that smile they save for new parents and reassured me, “She’ll be fine. We have her.”

  But as I looked down at my beautiful, teeny, amazing daughter… C’mon … No way was I ever letting you out of my sight. I had to protect you! Thankfully, the nurses put up with me, and let me pretend I was some old parental veteran as I helped give you your first bath. Later, as I sat there, rocking in the rocking chair they gave me and holding you close, I still remember all the dreams I was dreaming for you.

  I didn’t want just one thing for you. I wanted everything. If you needed strength, I wanted you to be strong. If you saw someone hurting, I wanted you to find the compassion to help. If there was a problem, big or small, that no one could solve, I wanted you to have every available skill—ingenuity, empathy, creativity, perseverance—so you could attack that problem in a way that no one else on this entire planet had ever fathomed. And that would be your greatest gift, Lila: That no one—and I mean no one—would ever be exactly you.

  I still believe that. I do. I’m a mushy dad. And it was in those first moments of blind idealism and unbridled naïveté that I resolved to write a book for you.

  That very night—six years ago, on the night you were born—I went home and started this book. My goal was to write it over the course of your life. I’d fill it with all the advice you needed to be a good person. I began the list that night:

  1. Love God.

  2. Help the kids who need it.

  My plan was to add more ideas as you grew older, and eventually, on the day when I presented this book to you, you’d realize I was indeed the greatest father of all time (I had a parade planned for myself as well).

  Thankfully, during your first few years, I realized my clichéd, self-important plan was just that. It hit me after hearing the stories of heroes like Sally Ride. Sure, I knew she was the first American woman to travel into space. But at a time when there were no women astronauts, do you know why NASA chose her? Some say it was because she was a genius at physics … or that it was her physical resolve and athletic ability … or that she was simply fearless. And sure, it was probably all those things. But it was also because when she saw an ad in her college’s newspaper looking for female astronauts, Sally Ride saw an opportunity. And grabbed it. In that moment, she dared to attempt what no woman had done before.

  I love that story. I wanted you to hear that story. I wanted your brothers to hear that story. I wanted everyone in this world to know that if you take a chance … and work hard … you can do anything in this world.

  Soon after, my new plan was born. I wouldn’t give you a book of rules. I’d give you a book of heroes. And in that, I’d give you absolute proof that anything is possible.

  When you’re older, this will be the point where you’ll again roll your eyes and again groan, “Dad, did you just tell me ‘anything is possible?’ You’re embarrassing me. Again.” I won’t begrudge you, Lila. I did the same thing. But let me be clear: My dreams for you today are different from the ones on the day you were born. Sure, I still want everything for you. I always will. But amongst those dreams, there’s one I keep coming back to. It’s the dream that links every single hero in these pages. You’ll see inside when you read it, my daughter. Every hero in here is a fighter. And Lila, no matter what stage of life you’re in, when you want something—no matter how impossible it seems—you need to fight for it. When you believe in something, fight for it. And when you see injustice, fight harder than you’ve ever fought before.

  To see the results, read the story of Marie Curie, who never stopped pushing science forward, even when she was dying from the radiation she was studying … or the story of Billie Jean King, who challenged (and beat!) the pig-headed man who told her that women were weaker than men.

  Women are not weaker. Read that again, Lila. Women are not weaker. They are just as strong, just as resolute, just as creative, and are filled with just as much potential as any man. Yes, as your father, my instinct is to protect you (like that first day with the nurses). Other people will want to protect you too. But remember that you are not a damsel
in distress, waiting for some prince to rescue you. Forget the prince. With your brain and your resourcefulness, you can rescue yourself. And when you have your doubts—as we all inevitably do—you’ll have this book, full of people who were wracked with just as much fear, but who also found the internal strength to overcome it.

  From Amelia Earhart to Abigail Adams to every person in here, you’ll see the stories of women (and men) who are no different from you and me. We may lionize them and put them on pedestals. But never forget this: No one is born a hero. Every person in this book had moments where they were scared and terrified. Like you. Like me. So how did they achieve what they achieved? Because whatever their dreams were, big or small—for their country, for their family, or even for themselves—they never stopped fighting for what they loved.

  We all are who we are—until that moment when we strive for something greater.

  Is that schmaltzy and naïve? I hope so. Because I want you to learn those things too.

  And so, my daughter, here is your book. This book is my dream for you. And it’s a dream that was built by both myself and the most important hero of all: your mother. When you have doubts, there is strength inside. When you are ready to give up, there’s motivation inside. And when you have questions, there are answers inside. But I hope you know, as every person in these pages proves, the best answers will always come from what’s within you.

  I love you, my Lila-boo.

  Dad

  (aka Brad Meltzer)

  Fort Lauderdale, Florida 2011

  BRILLIANT

  MARIE CURIE

  Scientist. Researcher. Nobel Prize winner.

  As one of history’s greatest scientists, Marie Curie was awarded two Nobel Prizes—one for Physics and one for Chemistry. As a woman, however, she was not invited to address the audience at the acceptance ceremony. Today, her findings on radiation are part of the most complex protocols for treating people with cancer.

  When she made her first revolutionary discovery, that radiation came from the interior of an atom, she could have stopped—she’d accomplished enough.

  When she pushed her theory forward, inventing the term radioactivity to describe her findings, she could have stopped—she’d accomplished enough.

  When she discovered two new elements, polonium and radium, and went on to become the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, she could have stopped—she’d accomplished enough.

  And when her husband died and the French government offered her support in the form of a pension, Marie Curie refused the money, saying she could take care of her two daughters by herself. She did it by becoming the Sorbonne’s first female lecturer and professor.

  From there she went on to win her second Nobel Prize, this one in chemistry, making her the first person to receive Nobel Prizes in two fields. She became so famous that when she traveled to the White House, President Harding presented her with a key to a lead-lined box that held one gram of radium. Worth more than one hundred thousand dollars, the radium was a gift from the women of America, who collected the money so Curie could continue her groundbreaking research.

  As she got older, Curie kept going, working with her daughter to find medical applications for her research. Indeed, even when she died from leukemia—after years of radiation exposure—we were still learning from her.

  Throughout her life, with so much accomplished, she could have stopped, she could have stopped, she could have stopped.

  Lucky for us, she didn’t.

  One never notices what has been done; one can only see what remains to be done....

  —MARIE CURIE

  CHAMPIONS

  MALLORY HOLTMAN AND LIZ WALLACE

  Softball players.

  As players on Central Washington University’s softball team, Mallory Holtman and Liz Wallace lost a game of baseball. And won the game of life.

  Western Oregon University Senior Sara Tucholsky had never hit a home run before—not in high school, not in college, not ever in her twenty-one years of playing softball.

  But at this doubleheader, with hecklers yelling at her, Tucholsky smashed the ball over the center-field fence.

  Amazed at her home run, Tucholsky forgot to touch first base.

  As she quickly turned to correct the mistake, her knee blew out.

  She had torn a ligament—her ACL.

  Tucholsky was on the ground, crawling back to first.

  Here’s the key: If anyone from her team tried to help her, Tucholsky would be called out. The umpires said that if she couldn’t continue beyond first base, and a pinch runner was put in, her over-the-fence hit would count only as a two-run single.

  That’s when the opposing team’s first baseman, Mallory Holtman, said to an umpire, “Excuse me, would it be okay if we carried her around and she touched each bag?” The umpires looked at each other.

  What?

  But as they discussed it, they realized there were no rules preventing the opposing side from helping.

  So that’s what Mallory and a teammate did.

  Holtman and shortstop Liz Wallace literally carried Tucholsky—an opposing player—around the bases, making sure she tagged every base with her good left foot.

  In the end, that home run contributed to Holtman and Wallace’s team losing the game. It also meant that Holtman, a senior, would never make it into the NCAA playoffs. Soon after, her softball career was over.

  But there’s a reason they now call Holtman the “greatest player” in her team’s history. And it’s not just because she’s the all-time home run leader in her conference (which she is).

  It was such a lesson that we learned—that it’s not all about winning. And we forget that, because as coaches, we’re always trying to get to the top. We forget that. But I will never, ever forget this moment. It’s changed me, and I’m sure it’s changed my players.

  —PAM KNOX, coach for Western Oregon

  VISIONARY

  JOAN GANZ COONEY

  Helped create Sesame Street.

  With the creation of Sesame Street, Joan Ganz Cooney changed the history of both television and education. Today, Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, and Elmo reach over 100 million children in more than 140 countries.

  At a dinner party, someone asked her, “Do you think television could be used to teach young children?”

  Joan Ganz Cooney, who worked in TV, needed time to answer the question.

  She started by commissioning a study.

  The study offered a revolutionary conclusion.

  And so began her experiment, which she called the Children’s Television Workshop.

  She hired researchers, writers, and artists.

  And a young puppeteer named Jim Henson.

  The first episode appeared in November 1969.

  Forget commercials. This show was brought to you by the letters W, S, and E—and the numbers 2 and 3.

  The cast was multicultural, so they looked like the preschoolers they wanted to help.

  And of course, there was that big yellow bird who taught kids it was okay to make a few mistakes.

  “Do you think television could be used to teach young children?”

  Joan Ganz Cooney’s answer was Sesame Street.

  It was a resounding “Yes.”

  It’s not whether children learn from television, it’s what children learn from television, because everything that children see on television is teaching them something.

  —JOAN GANZ COONEY

  ICON

  AUDREY HEPBURN

  Actress. Ambassador. Relief worker.

  Hollywood star Audrey Hepburn epitomized grace and beauty in films like Breakfast at Tiffany’s. But despite being one of the few people to win an Oscar, a Tony, an Emmy, and a Grammy Award, her greatest role was as a UNICEF International Goodwill Ambassador, working to ensure no child would ever suffer through hunger.

  As a child in Nazi-occupied Holland with nothing to eat, she nearly starved.

  But as she witnessed her uncle’s execution
by firing squad, as she saw innocent families shipped off in trains, she knew others had it worse.

  And when the liberation finally came—when the forerunner of a group called UNICEF brought her food and medical relief—she knew she was saved.

  Forty years later, Audrey Hepburn was the greatest and most beautiful actress in the world.

  She didn’t have to do anything.

  But that’s when she reached out to UNICEF.

  They didn’t find her.

  She found them.

  From Ethiopia, to Turkey, to Sudan, to Bangladesh,

  Audrey Hepburn made over fifty trips to the poorest and most desperate countries in the world, never forgetting her own near starvation as a child.

  In 1992, just before she was diagnosed with cancer, she made her final visit—to Somalia.

  Before President Clinton and later President George W. Bush sent troops, it was Audrey

  Hepburn who brought the tragedy there to the press and the world.

  It is her greatest legacy:

  Yes, the hunger that’s in your belly can destroy you,