Behind every great man there's a great woman, right? Well, forget the first part, and you've got the idea behind the fascinating lecture series that is Unique Lives & Experiences. This forum provides its audience with an intimate look at the personal tragedies and triumphs of its famous female speakers. This year's lineup consisted of Jerri Nielsen, the physician who diagnosed and directed the surgical removal of her own breast cancer while stationed at the South Pole; Mae Jemison, a Dartmouth professor and the first African-American woman in space (aboard
Endeavour); Marie Osmond, child actress, country music star and mother of seven who survived a gripping bout of postpartum depression; Madeleine Albright, former U.S. secretary of state, who shared intriguing tales of both the difficulties and benefits of being a woman in world politics; and exiled Chilean Isabel Allende, the best-selling author of
The House of the Spirits and
Daughter of Fortune. Each lecture ends with a Q&A session, providing educational, entertaining interaction. So who needs men? Sisters are doin' it for themselves.