Bootstrap: A Montana Orphan's Rise in Silicon Valley
A memoir
Orphaned at fifteen in rural Montana, I relied on the kindness of neighbors and a close friend to make it through high school. In the fall of 1976, I left Montana alone to become an electronics technician, eventually blazing a trail as the first woman to service CT/T scanners for San Francisco GE Medical and later as the first female hardware engineer at the networking giant, 3Com. My memoir, Bootstrap, is a candid exploration of loss, grit, gender, and survival at the edges of American tech and society. Coming fall 2026.
To learn more about my journey, and experience the tech world through the eyes of a young woman in the 70s and 80s, join my mailing list.
What you can expect when you join the list.
Each newsletter's exact content will vary but the objectives are to provide:
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Insights into the publishing process from the initial pitch to a signed contract to a published book.
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Fun educational series on technology and what Silicon Valley was like before Facebook and Google.
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Character backgrounds and behind-the-scenes looks at the writing of Bootstrap.
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Learnings on love, life, and the price we pay is grief.
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Culinary, and culture from the communities where I live, Monterey Bay and the Sierra Foothills.