It's challenging enough for a woman to thrive in the competitive, still male-dominated newspaper industry and the rising digital news landscape. But imagine pivoting to become a novelist well past the typical starting age, defying logic that urges sticking to the familiar, playing it safe, and avoiding potential embarrassment.
I lived it.
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For much of my career, I ignored naysayers who claimed to hold the key to my aspirations. I learned early on to absorb setbacks, rise stronger, and fight harder—or risk being sidelined by life.
As a driven woman intent on leaving more than a fleeting mark, true legacy demands courage: speaking truth to power even when it risks your career, because it's right for you and the world. It means never allowing workplace disrespect—especially from men—to go unchallenged. They can't undermine you unless you permit it. Full stop.
Seek your own truth; it's there if you're willing to unearth it. And refuse to tolerate mistreatment from anyone—particularly men.
Crafting a powerful legacy requires confronting deep fears to drive change—in yourself, your family, your workplace, or the world at large. It means rejecting the know-it-alls and self-proclaimed experts dictating your path.
When my daughter was 2, my then-husband declared he wanted out of the marriage, craving 'space.' My mother, ever perceptive, suspected an affair—and she was right. She urged me to stop grieving, get moving, and build a life for my daughter and myself.
Her wisdom became my guiding legacy: seek your truth and stand firm against nonsense, especially from men.
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Suddenly a single mother in a working-class suburb, I chased my dual dreams of newsroom reporting and novel-writing—despite the odds stacked against me.
I rejected the harmful myth that children of single mothers inevitably struggle. Without child support or financial aid, I took a local PR job, budgeting tightly for childcare and commuting, yet prioritizing being home by 6 p.m. nightly. Social outings were rare; my focus was my daughter. I valued her weekends with her father, using that time wisely without badmouthing him—fairness mattered for her sake. Weaponizing kids against exes breeds unhappy families.
Soon, I landed a magazine role, editing at Elle and Cosmopolitan. Within a couple of years, I broke into newspapers at Newsday, realizing my columnist dream.
Transitioning from polished PR and women's glossies to a gritty newsroom of tough, hard-drinking male veterans was a shock.
Yet even battle-tested columnists yield to a resolute woman.
I thrived in it.
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My first major newsroom test came from a celebrity columnist and heavy drinker who cornered me at the copier, hurling a crude jab: 'Tell me, Stasi, why would a woman give you a blowjob at night but not use your toothbrush in the morning?'
Rather than escalating to HR, I shoved him back and quipped loudly, 'If you smelled your own breath, you'd give yourself one instead of risking your toothbrush.' He slunk away, never to bother me again. Even legends bow to strength.
And that daughter doomed by single motherhood?
She graduated cum laude from Wellesley College and now leads Arkadium, named by Inc. magazine as America's best place to work for its humane culture. Forbes hails her as the fearless woman who single-handedly evacuated Ukrainian staff during Russia's invasion, defying Putin.
As for me, I keep calling out corruption in government and beyond, while publishing my second novel, Book of Judas, which earned rave reviews.
Some things never change.
Two years ago, with my debut The Sixth Station, editors balked at a 42-year-old female protagonist: 'Women that age don't have adventures.' (Yes, really.)
Older myself, I researched across six countries, road-tripped with a Vatican exorcist, summited French mountains twice. For Book of Judas, I explored a 3,000-year-old Israeli burial cave.
I aspire to a legacy as potent as my mother's: unearth your truth and take no nonsense from anyone.
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