Meredith Hall – Mapless Pathfinder

Above: Photo courtesy of the University of New Hampshire

In 1965 Meredith Hall was pregnant at 16, expelled from high school and shunned by her small New Hampshire town and by her family. Now she has more awards and praise for her writing than will fit here, teaches writing at the University of New Hampshire and has published “Without a Map,” the story of her pregnancy, how her son was swiftly put up for adoption and how he found her 21 years later. A $50,000 Gift of Freedom Award from A Room of Her Own Foundation gave her the financial support to write “Without a Map.” Hall’s work was also honored by a Pushcart Prize, has appeared in The New York Times, “Best American Essays,” The Southern Review and more.