We learned of the death of Barbara Seaman last week from Jennifer Baumgartner's remembrance on Feministing and we are updating our original blog entry with an announcement of a memorial service in Barbara's honor. If you are in the NYC area, please attend if you can.
A memorial service for Barbara Seaman will be held on Thursday, March 6 at 5:30 pm at the Riverside Memorial Chapel at 180 West 76th Street and Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan.
Barbara Seaman was one of the leaders of the women's health movement. Way back in the 1960's, she warned us about the dangers of birth control pills in her magazine articles and in her book The Doctor's Case Against the Pill. It was largely due to her efforts that warnings were placed on the pill and people became aware of the dangers of excessive estrogen ingestion.
Barbara Seaman went on to write and co-author more books on health issues, her latest one being The Greatest Experiment ever Performed on Women: Exploding the Estrogen Myth (2003). In a change of pace she also wrote a bio of best selling novelist Jacqueline Susann who practically pioneered the modern book marketing strategy.
Jennifer Baumgartner had this to say:
Thinking about Barbara, I realize that she was a one-woman social networking site. She remembered everyone she had ever met and tried to connect them with everybody else she had ever met. She recalled where you were from, whom you dated, your health problems, and your writings or accomplishments and then she introduced to people who you should know. She was incredibly generous—if you needed something, she called everyone in her huge circle to try to help you, be it a review, a deal, a place to live, a referral for an abortion, or tickets to Kiki and Herb. I’m not even mentioning all of the incredible things she did to change the world and save thousands of lives, which are all on her wikipedia entry, because I’m overcome by all she did to change my world. Suffice it to say, she was really someone.
Your Infogal had the great pleasure of meeting Barbara Seaman when she came to Chicago to promote one of her women's health books at Women and Children First Bookstore. After the book reading and signing, the infatigueable Barbara went out with several us to a nearby cafe and while we all wanted to know about her, her main interest was knowing about us.
She was a wonderful human being who made this world a better place during her journey here. My thoughts go out to her family and many friends who are grieving this night.