Reading the latest book in the Outlander series is a stark reminder that while it may not always feel so safe to be a woman now, it was decidedly less safe in previous centuries. Women couldn't really venture anywhere without a man's protection. It is interesting that books often provide the context for these realizations. Whenever I read Jane Austen I recognize how fortunate I am to live in a time when I CAN be a single woman living on my own with the independence to do as I like, and earn my own money. It is so easy to forget how far we've come as women in a relatively short period of time. Even watching Mad Men reminds me that women haven’t had the freedom to have their own careers all that long, and that my mom’s generation was mostly limited to support roles or a few limited options s...