We’ve lost two awe-inspiring women over the past week. Both were powerful feminists who accomplished many things in polar opposite ways. Dolly Parton was known for her voluptuous body and over-the-top feminine country-singer style. She was quoted once as saying. “It takes a whole lot of money to look this cheap.”

Born dirt poor, Parton’s philanthropic giving is legendary. Most notably Parton, whose father was illiterate, created the non-profit Dollywood Foundation to educate marginalized children in her home state of Tennessee. Now the Imagination Library, made up of over 1,600 local communities provides books to almost 850,000 children each month across the U.S., Canada, the UK, Australia and Ireland.

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Gloria Steinhem who died today at 92, followed a completely different path, going undercover for a magazine article, she posed as a Playboy bunny to expose the tawdry industry of sex. Through her extensive career as a journalist and spokesperson for women’s rights, she caught the attention of bra-burning crowd and forever changed the way women see themselves.

These are the types of women who inspired me to write the Tales of Merth Trilogy where women are strong, courageous and inspiring.

With Democracy and women’s rights being continuously eroded by the whims of white privileged men and the women who enable them who will be the next Dolly? Who will be the next courageous Gloria? We have lost two incredible women this week, and we are the worst for it.

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