Suzette Martinez Standring of Milton is 4 feet, 10 inches tall, and says she has spent her life “navigating the world at armpit level.’’
The writer (whose work has included freelancing for the Globe) has endured her share of short jokes and comments. From this sprang an idea for an essay: “The Height of Power: Petite Women Speak of Stature,’’ which recently won first place in the 2010 Royal Palm Literary Awards competition of the Florida Writers Association, in the unpublished essay category.
Now Standring, 56, who hosts a twice-monthly TV show on Milton’s cable access station called “It’s All Write With Suzette,’’ is writing a book about successful short women and how their height affects their lives.
She’s lining up such notables as Donna Shalala (5 feet), former US secretary of health and human services and current University of Miami president, and Chloe Dao ((4-foot-11), a fashion designer who was a winner in the “Project Runway’’ TV series.
The book, which she said “will not be whiney or negative,’’ will cover all aspects of being short.
Her advice to short women: “It’s a beautiful size. It’s confidence and acceptance that are key.’’
For more information, visit www.readsuzette.com, where the full essay can be found.
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