In 1995, their lives intersected. Gail Stearns was adjunct faculty in anthropology and soon to be the coordinator of the Graduate School’s interdisciplinary doctoral program. Pauline Thompson was a 90-year-old alumna (she graduated in 1927 with a degree in education and in 1928 with a master’s in English) who donated a lifetime of letters, journals, essays, drawings and mementos to WSU.
Through Women’s Studies, she provided funding for an author to make sense of her life and write her biography. Stearns was selected to be that author.
Over the next five years, their lives intertwined. Stearns spent hundreds of hours in the library dissecting Thompson’s papers and interviewed her at her San Francisco home. By 1999, the manuscript was completed. During the editing process, on Nov. 30, 2000, Thompson died.
“After her death, I had to rewrite the book in the past tense and add her memorial service. The book was done in 2002, and finally it was published in 2005,” Stearns said.
The book, entitled “Writing Pauline: Wisdom from a Long Life,” was printed by Hamilton Books of Lanham, Md., and is available nationwide.
“This book changed my life,” Stearns said. “Knowing Pauline changed my life. It was a very valuable process.”
The initial funding from Pauline did underwrite her research, but Stearns found her costs actually exceeded what she was paid.
“I didn’t do this for the money,” she explained. “I grew from my association with her and learned to see other things as important. Seeing her life encouraged me to seek what I really wanted, including the teaching and ministry work I do now.”
Stearns is director of the Common Ministry at WSU and serves as adjunct faculty in both the Honors College and Women’s Studies. In addition, Stearns said her teaching improved because of the experience.
“She taught me that teachers do not have all the answers and that we have to respect the soul journeys of our students. Now, in class, I am not afraid to let the discussion go where it will.”
This book was her first, and Stearns found its publication to be both an important way to share ideas and a major boost to her own academic credibility.
“This book has opened a number of doors for me,” she said. “As it is reviewed, I become more involved — invited to conferences and academic discussions. Writing this book created such a beneficial relationship for both Pauline and me.”
