In the past generation, America’s corporations have taken over most of our culture – publishing, media, movies, much of art, health care, the law, weather, work, politics. In the face of this onslaught, strong individuals everywhere are righting to preserve individuality, creativity and human connection. Many of these warriors are strong women, and women in particular have taken up the quiet but intense crusade to save community bookstores, raising the notion of buying local to a spiritual level. Connie Brooks is one of these strong women, swimming against a tsunami of greed and power.

These women are heroic to me. They face overwhelming odds, often with patience, hard work, generosity and great faith.

She does not present herself as a warrior, quiet the opposite, but the people on the front lines of the war to save bookstores are smart, tough and resilient. Connie, who runs Battenkill Books, my bookstore is all of those things. She worked at Bennington College before opening the bookstore, and has some of that aura about her – soft-spoken, intelligent, reserved. She loves books, but loving books is only one of the many things people saving bookstores have to do – they are readers, community organizers,  handlers of writers, customer service specialists, package handlers, interior designers, marketers, inventory specialists, bloggers and Web designers, shipping and label connoisseurs.They fight not only for books, but for a way of life that is under siege.

Connie and I  kept our distance from each other for awhile, she is shy and sometimes anxious, but we are good friends now, we have been making a lot of noise together, as have a number of other writers in the area. Connie uses a lot of different weapons in her very successful effort to keep her bookstore thriving, writers are only one of them. She is having her best year ever. Her store is beautiful, well-organized, well stocked. She has a wonderful staff of competent, knowledgeable people. Everyone in town is welcome in her store, and she knows everyone in town by name. Although she works hard at her bookstore, she works harder to be a loving wife and mother. It is this double identity, these balancing priorities that make strong women so strong, I think.

I especially admire strong women, they seem ascendant to me. I believe they are the last and best hope for a world sometimes gone mad by the men who spread war, nationalism and religious hatred, terrorism, crime, greed and environmental deprivation.

This afternoon, I got the idea to go to the bookstore and take some photographs of this strong woman at work You can buy books I write or review, books you love or want by calling Connie at 518 677-2515 or visiting the store’s website. I’m putting up an album of the photos I shot today on Facebook. Come and see a strong woman at work.