Why the Circle?

Before there were governments, there were circles.

Before there were courtrooms, schools, or corporations, people gathered in circles to share knowledge, settle disagreements, mourn losses, celebrate victories, and tell the stories that would outlive them. The circle is one of humanity's oldest symbols because it reminds us that wisdom is rarely created alone. It is shared, questioned, refined, and passed from one generation to the next.

Women have always built circles.

Whether around family tables, in places of worship, classrooms, neighborhoods, workplaces, or community organizations, women have gathered to solve problems, protect one another, exchange ideas, and preserve stories that might otherwise have been lost. Much of what has endured through history survived because someone took the time to say, "This is what happened. Don't forget."

For much of recorded history, societies were organized around patriarchal structures in which political, legal, religious, and economic power rested largely with men. Women's contributions did not disappear, but they were too often overlooked, dismissed, or left out of the historical record. Today, more women are asking whose stories were preserved, whose were forgotten, and how those omissions continue to shape the world we live in.

Those questions matter because stories shape culture. Culture influences institutions. Institutions influence the opportunities we are offered, the risks we face, and the choices available to us. If we want to understand the present, we must be willing to examine the past.

That is why I created Come Join the Circle.

This is more than a collection of novels. It is a place to connect history, research, and storytelling in ways that help women better understand the forces shaping their lives and the choices they make. Through fiction and nonfiction alike, my goal is not to tell readers what to think, but to provide context, ask better questions, and encourage thoughtful conversation.

The Circle isn't an organization.

It isn't a club.

It is the moment one woman shares what she has learned, another recognizes its truth, and neither has to stand alone again.

Every time that happens, the Circle grows.

In the months ahead, we'll explore the women history remembers and the countless women it does not. We'll examine research, revisit forgotten stories, connect the past to the present, and ask difficult questions about power, justice, resilience, and change.

If these conversations help even one woman see her world more clearly, recognize a pattern she hadn't seen before, or feel less alone in asking difficult questions, then the Circle has done what it was always meant to do.

Welcome to the Circle.