Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In created an international sensation when it was published in 2013. Sandberg incisively examines the state of the contemporary workplace, asking questions about the obstacles that women face when they express ambition, seek mentors, show leadership, and confront the challenges of motherhood. Sandberg’s witty, direct, and informative approach makes reading Lean In an empowering act in itself. 23. The Power is Within You by Louise Hay Rafael Santandreu El método para vivir sin miedo: Cómo miles de personas han superado la ansiedad, el TOC, la hipocondría y cualquier miedo irracional

What’s especially intriguing about the writing is you’ll begin a chapter on one thing and then take a detour to somewhere equally fascinating. The section on menstruation (“I Start Bleeding!”), for instance, soon becomes a hilarious and refreshingly honest look at her sexual awakening, via Jilly Cooper novels, Chevy Chase movies (!!!) and the complete oeuvre of Jenny Agutter. That, in turn, leads to an intelligent and passionate discussion about porn. So yeah, it was weird going there and having to basically justify feminism again in a way I never had to in this country or in any other places. Italy seems to be troubled as well, judging from the interviews that I’ve done. You get female interviewers who really need you, who are desperate for you to take them through, step-by-step, through why women should be equal to men, and why access to abortion should be a right. They need you to do that because that conversation has still not happened there. Women still haven’t been proven equal to men in Italy as far as I’m aware.

Policemen don't have guns in the UK" Oh, so those armed men standing outside New Scotland Yard that I passed every day on my way to Tube were holding toy assault rifles? Another compelling Pulitzer winner, Toni Morrison’s classic Beloved is set in a time shortly after the American Civil War. Its protagonist, Sethe, lives among memories that haunt her, in a story that takes an unflinching look at the trauma of slavery and its psychological impact. Blending beauty with horror, this book’s rich synthesis of ghost story, magical realism , and historical fiction is a book everyone needs to read at least once — and will probably want to read again. 52. White Teeth by Zadie Smith Elizabeth also encourages women through her radio broadcast, “A Minute for Busy Women,” featured on Christian radio stations across America and at www.OnePlace.com. She is also a regular keynote speaker at women’s conferences and retreats. Sometimes you need a boost from a brave female historical figure, a bold female industry leader, or a badass female character to remind you of all the things that women have accomplished and can achieve when they aren’t pushed to the margins and can claim their rightful space in the spotlight. In the list below, we recommend some of our favorite inspirational books ( nonfiction as well as fiction) for women — though people of all genders will enjoy these powerful stories. You’re bound to find some uplift and motivation as these reads spark joy, outrage, entrepreneurial ambition, or some combination of them all. Nonfiction 1. Becoming by Michelle Obama Moran's funny, unapologetically irreverent take on everything. I didn't always agree with her views, but admired that she had the daring to say them. If there's one thing you can't claim, it's that she's inauthentic.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family. It was when I finally accepted that I was different and worthy, exactly as I was, that the clouds started to shift and I started to own the space I occupied.Note: I believe that both men and women have a right to have or not have children and that women without children should not be treated as emotional cripples for it. Although I do actually feel as though Moran short-changed the joy of having children, but maybe that's what you get for being raised by a mother who was, by her own admission, absolutely desperate to have them.) But am I the only one who sees the problem with this quote? She says that "Nothing [in motherhood] is something you couldn't get from...calling your mum." I didn't notice this when I read it (I don't read that closely, dudes), but seriously? Moran has just used evidence of a would-be mother's mother/child relationship (with her own mother) as a reason why you shouldn't have children? My opinion: seriously faulty analysis. If ringing your own mother gives you such happiness, why wouldn't you want to pass that on? (God, now I sound like someone who is advocating the "all women must have babies" stance. I'm just making the point that I don't think Moran is helping her case here. This was reaffirmed when I heard an NPR interview with Caitlin Moran. She spoke intelligently about a variety of topics facing women and was very humorous in doing so. She sounded like someone I would like: funny, self-deprecating, and smart.

I also did not find the places where she had the reader do copy work to be beneficial. Copy work is fine for an elementary school student practicing handwriting, not in a study aimed at adult women. No billionaire heiresses are ever abducted and raped and murdered, because they are just being put into a taxi or have their driver waiting around a corner for them. Much as there is to quibble over a strictly academic handling of feminist thought, if your introduction to feminism began here chances are you will be tempted to think that a jocular disdain for transpeople and tch-tch-ing sympathy for women outside the sphere of Europe and America could be pardoned in the light of light-hearted banter. one misguidedly thinking that (Katie) Price is a good businesswoman - despite the fact that she has to rope her kids into her business to make money: something I always associate with desperate Third World families.." When the subject turns to abortion, cosmetic intervention, birth, motherhood, sex, love, work, misogyny, fear, or just how you feel in your own skin, women still often won't tell the truth to each other unless they are very, very drunk."With passion and personality, Elizabeth George shares how a woman can follow God and seek His heart in every area of her life— So when this book popped up at the library I thought: Why not? And I listened along to the audio version, which turned out to be a good decision. Her exuberant, fierce personality comes through – in both her prose and voice. (I have yet to see her on TV or onstage, but I have a feeling she’d be just as exciting.)

Another excellent video series. My favorite part of Beth Moore Bible studies is doing the homework she writes. She does good research and has insights that are always new and applicable. I think the outstanding thing about this study was not so much how Esther 'came into the kingdom for such a time as this.' Or even Esther's willingness to die to save the Jews, "If I perish, I perish." In this study the God who is not mentioned in the Bible book is the real hero. God's timing is perfect. The whole situation turns on the king's sleepless night when he reads the chronicles. I'm amazed at Esther's sensitivity to God in not making her request at the first banquet. She waited on God's timing. Lots of good information! Motivational author Louise Hay survived childhood abuse, rape, and cervical cancer, and in the late 1980s, she led support groups for people with HIV/AIDS. She emerged from these experiences a champion of the power of positive thinking and self-love. The Power is Within You is the best-selling author’s self-help manifesto on how to nurture yourself, listen to your inner voice, and treat yourself with the kindness you deserve. 24. Very Good Lives by J.K. Rowling Also included are some shots at footballers’ wives and Katie Price, British things that made me scratch my head (although I think I can imagine their North American equivalents).

And as someone whose health limits my ability to clean thoroughly, George's emphasis on maintaining a household can be demoralizing. Instead of encouraging, the book can feed feelings of inadequacy. Are you a Meg, a Jo, a Beth, or an Amy? Each girl is bound to identify with at least one of the March sisters. Set in Massachusetts during the American Civil War, Little Women is an uplifting story of sisterhood and boundless female curiosity. It’s a classic full of strong female heroines to which all women, even those who are no longer little, can relate. With burlesque, not only does the power balance rest with the person taking her clothes off...but it also anchors its heart in freaky, late-night, libertine self expression: it has a campy, tranny, fetish element to it. I read George's book Beautiful in God's Eyes and appreciated how empowering it was because of how it celebrating the many aspects of being a Christian woman. Unfortunately, this book is just like the stereotypical Stepford wife/shut up and look pretty image of a Christian woman. When I told my husband about the book, he thought it sounded terrible. I couldn't even finish it. In a project parallel to the aforementioned Circe , Pat Barker’s The Silence of the Girls is a feminist re-interpretation of Homer’s Iliad . Briseis, a former queen who has been reduced to being the spoils of war, replaces the Greek warriors as the center of the story. The Silence of the Girls casts an unflinching eye on the legendary Trojan War and the women behind the scenes. The tale of Ilium, Barker reminds us, was written by a man; but there’s always more than one side to the story. 38. The World’s Wife by Carol Ann Duffy