WOMANCARE CONFERENCE HONORS MOSLEY

Women can't do it all and they shouldn't, author Marjorie Hansen Shaevitz says.

Shaevitz, author of "The Superwoman Syndrome," was the featured speaker Saturday at the Womancare conference at the Holiday Inn Convention Center.

Shaevitz said too many women are depressed, angry and overwhelmed because they try to do everything from having a career to taking care of the household duties and raising a family. They volunteer for everything and leave no time for themselves.

The conference, sponsored by St. Francis Medical Center, began Friday night and ended Saturday afternoon. About 300 women attended the conference, whose theme was "Celebrating Women."

Local writer Jean Bell Mosley received the Womancare Award at a luncheon Saturday. The annual award recognizes area women for their professional achievements.

Previous recipients were astronaut Linda Godwin, opera singer Judith Farris, businesswoman Judith Wilferth, journalist Judith Crow and Patricia Washington, press secretary to St. Louis Mayor Freeman Bosley Jr.

A 1937 graduate of Southeast Missouri State University, Mosley began her writing career in the early 1940s. She has authored five books and been published in numerous magazines. She writes a weekly column for the Southeast Missourian.

In her closing for her keynote speech, Shaevitz said women pay the price for trying to do too much.

"I think that sometimes we forget that our bodies are like engines and we don't treat our bodies very well," she said.

"Most of us push ourselves and our bodies until they break down," Shaevitz said. "In our culture, women have to be literally sick to take care of themselves."

Shaevitz said society and the media have contributed to the "superwoman syndrome."

"Women are so much less confident than men in this culture," she said. "We continue to teach girls never to say no."

Shaevitz used to be a "superwoman," devoting time to everyone and everything but herself. "It has taken me 20 years to add `me' to the list," she said.