I find myself unsure of how to start. In April 2014 I heard a previously recorded interview with Janet on NPR. Her perspective on living in Paris was interesting, and her honesty, intelligence, and humor drew me in. It wasn't til the end of the program that they said she had died in 2007. I was shocked. Here was someone I'd heard only briefly, and wanted more of, silenced now except through the legacy of her books. I bought and read Project Girl. Now finished, I have such mixed feelings-compassion, anger, sadness, gratitude... with no closure. Her brutal honesty both touched and disturbed me, which is what good writers do! I'm a high school teacher, and many of my students struggle between the same worlds of their upbringing and their ambition. I will share Janet's words with them. Those of you who knew her were given a gift, through all the good, the bad, and the ugly. I send my belated sympathy. I wish I could thank this total stranger who has deeply touched my life and given me much to think about.
