Author Archives: Sonya Schryer Norris

…because I’ve long considered myself radically feminist it was natural for me to gravitate toward librarianship. I made a conscious decision to choose a woman-dominated profession for some important reasons. To the point, if I was going to spend 40 or 50 hours a week of my working life in intense interactions with other people,ContinueContinue reading “Chapter Five: Why I Chose to Become a Librarian (page 274)”

… so it might be ironic that I went from Commie High to Michigan State University. But MSU was big enough to accommodate all of my weirdness, and all my varied interests. Having attended an open campus school where I regularly spoke with my teachers and engaged in respectful debate, I was very well preparedContinueContinue reading “Chapter Four: Spartan Country (page 159)”

…and it was time to choose a high school. I was terrified of the idea of attending a “factory”school with thousands of students. My time at a well-appointed, well-funded middle school in Ann Arbor had taught me to run from the status quo. At my only one-on-one meeting with Clague Middle School’s guidance counselor heContinueContinue reading “Chapter Three: Zebras (page 103)”

…because I have a complicated relationship with rocks. See, my father taught geology. Technically he’s a paleontologist but what I knew was that he led a lot of field trips into the Blue Ridge and Masanutten mountains of the Shenandoah Valley around us and the house was full of geods.It was an exquisitely beautiful placeContinueContinue reading “Chapter Two: Gems (page 76)”

… and although my mother wasn’t a hippie per se, she did belong to a consciousness raising group that would continue to meet nearly 50 years later. Her first choice for a name for me was Zinaida (Zina for short), after Zinaida Gippius, a 19th century Russian poet. Mom actually named a cat after meContinueContinue reading “Chapter One: Born a Female Townie (page 3)”

One day a few years ago I was listening to NPR and I came across a story by a man talking about his daughter’s search for the right college fit. He was blown away by the entire process – and his daughter’s l’aissez faire attitude about spending tens of thousands of dollars based on “feel.”ContinueContinue reading “Pages from my autobiography”