The Minnesota Writers Series welcomes Sheri Brenden, author of Break Point: Two Minnesota Athletes and the Road to Title IX in a conversation with her sister, Peg Brenden, one of the St. Cloud student athletes behind the groundbreaking 1972 federal court case that took on the unequal system of school athletics nationwide. The event will take place at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 28, in the former high school gym, now converted into St. Cloud city council chambers. Mayor Dave Kleis will provide a welcome, and Carie Essig from Stearns County Museum will give a brief overview on women’s sports history. Co-sponsored by the Minnesota Coalition of Women in Athletic Leadership. Registration is required for this in-person event: please click here to register.

Break Point tells the story of how two Minnesota teenagers took on the inequitable system of high school athletics, setting a legal precedent for schools nationwide before the passage of Title IX. This scrupulously reported book is at heart the story of the girls whose pluck and determination—and heartache—led to a victory much greater than any high school championship.

"This engaging and meticulously researched book gives readers insight into a crucial milestone in the history of women’s sports: a 1972 federal court decision that changed the lives of two Minnesota high-school girls and paved the way for future generations to fully participate in sports. Those two young women, Peg Brenden and Toni St. Pierre, believed they shouldn’t have to sit on the sidelines, and they challenged the naysayers and courageously fought for gender equity across the sports world. We are forever in their debt." —Mary Jo Kane, director emerita, Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, University of Minnesota

"Wonderfully readable and engaging, Break Point brings Peggy Brenden and Toni St. Pierre to life, showing how personal Brenden v. ISD 742 was. The court’s decision changed lives, and we should never forget the stories of the young women who had the courage to stand and fight for their opportunity to play high school sports." —Sarah K. Fields, author of Game Faces: Sport Celebrity and the Laws of Reputation

"Break Point is stunning, shocking, nuanced, infuriating, and inspirational... I wish every high school student, parent, grandparent, educator, and journalist would read this book. Everyone." —Monticello Times