Kate Moore, the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Radium Girls, will present "History's Forgotten Heroine and Modern Lessons" virtually from the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library on Oct. 28 as part of the Chippewa Valley Book Festival. She will discuss  her latest book, The Woman They Could Not Silence, which explores the incredible true story of Elizabeth Packard, a nineteenth-century housewife from Illinois who was committed to an insane asylum for daring to defy her husband and whose courageous fight for justice changed the world. The Radium Girls was awarded the 2017 Goodreads Choice Award for Best History, was voted U.S. librarians’ favorite nonfiction book of 2017, and was named a Notable Nonfiction Book of 2018 by the American Library Association. Her passion as a writer is to help others have their voices heard, especially those silenced through injustice. 

What is something you're excited to share about your work?

I’m looking forward to sharing both the story of Elizabeth Packard – a strong, courageous, impactful woman who has a phenomenal story but has largely been forgotten – and the fascinating historical facts I uncovered during my research for my book about her, such as that assertive, educated women were viewed as highly susceptible to madness in the nineteenth century and therefore were often incarcerated in insane asylums (as happens to EP).  

If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

Dreams can – and will – come true.  

What do you hope readers learn from your book(s)?

I hope in reading both The Radium Girls and The Woman They Could Not Silence that readers are inspired by the incredible women I write about, and haunted by how little has changed in our society since the historical events I describe.  

What book would you most want to read again for the first time?

All the Harry Potters!  

What are you reading right now?

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson – a.k.a the king of historical narrative non-fiction.  

Do you have a favorite quote about reading and/or writing?

Not about writing per se, but when I quit my job and became a full-time writer, a very good friend gave me a framed quotation that said: “She believed she could do it, so she did.” And that’s stayed with me.