Dorothy Sterling: A Journalism Pioneer

A woman, who has lived through seven wars, devoted her life to her husband, children, friends, and work for over 80 years, is worth noting and even better yet, celebrating due to her personal accomplishments and inspiring lifestyle. This woman, Dorothy Sterling, pursued her childhood dream of becoming a writer, through times when adversity was toughest for women and minorities. In her autobiography, Close to My Heart, published in 2005, she inadvertently inspires readers to follow his/her dreams, no matter the adverse situations. Not only is it the story of Dorothy Sterling's life, it also provides historical background of the journalist career path and news room environments.

Sterling was born in 1913 of Washington Heights in a predominantly Jewish area. With blue eyes and blonde kinky hair she was considered a novelty as opposed to a young girl with brown hair (Sterling, 4). She remembered though, her realization of being Jewish not until the age of five or six (p 7_/An episode occurred at a family picnic when some children came by yelling, "Dirty Jews! Dirty Jews! Kikes!" (p 7). She had not been aware of her German background because her parents never spoke about it. In fact, Sterling's parents became Christian scientists and she admitted that today people might say "... they were trying to escape from being Jewish" (p 14).