Brick by Brick: A Woman’s Journey

Brick by Brick: A Woman’s Journey (Spinner, 2000) is a book you might have missed when it was published by a small press back in 2000. It is the story of Lynn Donohue, a woman who was not only the first woman bricklayer in the union in Massachusetts, but who also triumphed despite the odds being stacked—like heavy bricks—against her. Like the film, The Fighter, Brick by Brick is about a person from a small New England town and a dysfunctional family. In this memoir, Ms. Donohue tells how she went from being a high school drop out to a successful business owner.

While I think you’d do well to pick up her book if you want an uplifting but also honest memoir, Lynn’s story goes far beyond the memoir itself. After writing the book, and getting it published, Lynn went on to continue and complete her college education. She founded a non-profit organization in her home town of New Bedford, Massachusetts, the mission of which is to help kids who, like her, need a little help overcoming the barriers their socioeconomic situation places in their way.

Lynn’s story is not just about her becoming a woman bricklayer, and learning to build walls. Rather, it is about breaking down walls with the same kind of tenacity it takes to build them in the first place. Highlights of this book for me include when Lynn talks about telling guys on her early crews that one day, they’d work for her. Several of them did. This is also not merely a feel-good memoir about a rags-to-riches story. Lynn suffered serious and debilitating setbacks, including an injury at one point due to a serious fall. When Lynn describes going to work the next day, despite her intense pain, it feels like you get to see how Superwoman feels at the end of a day’s work. You get the real story behind what otherwise would be a single scene in a film, wherein our heroine triumphs. Instead, you have mixed emotions about the strength and emotional wherewithal required to move forward like Lynn did. You wonder whether you would have the same ability or drive if faced with the same circumstances. Lynn doesn’t just talk about going back to work; you feel her pain in her description.

I attended the same college where Lynn earned her bachelor’s degree, and then went on to earn a Master’s. I was privileged to meet her personally and to witness one of her motivational presentations. She shared the “how” of making your dream job a reality in a lecture by the same title. Brick by Brick gives more background information and lets you get to know a woman who truly did pave her own way, quite literally, to success, as she defines the word with her own personal terms. She exceeds the expectations of others by meeting her own.

Lynn wrote Brick by Brick with the help of her long-time friend, Pamela Hunt. When I met Lynn, she explained how the idea for the book came about. She and Pam were taking a walk. They talked about Lynn’s life and how it would make a great book. Together, they set out to make that happen, too. This was all before Lynn had the self-confidence to pursue higher education.

In light of all the negative themes in the media today, I thought I’d share a gem with inContext readers—a gem of light and possibility. If you need some inspiration, some hope, then Brick by Brick is sure to provide. Most assuredly, the path Lynn took was no yellow brick road. It was muddy, cold and hard. However, in the end, her story is a testament to all that is right with hard work and tenacity in the face of adversity. She is a woman who represents our gender well, and who figuratively paved the way for more women in male-dominated industries connected to construction.

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