Women today have made great strides in breaking barriers and shattering glass ceilings. However, the road to equality is still long and fraught with challenges.
As women continue to fight for their rights and opportunities, it is important to educate ourselves on the issues we face and empower ourselves and others to reach our full potential.
And what better way to do that than through reading?
Here are eight must-read books that offer insight, inspiration, and empowerment for women:
Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit:
Rebecca Solnit's "Men Explain It to Me": Men explaining things to women is something that most women have heard of. This book by Solnit is an anthology of essays that explores the ways in which men display their superiority to women through mansplaining and other forms of condescension.
Rebecca Solnit's 2014 essay collection Men Explain Things to Me covers a wide range of misogyny in our culture, from subtle everyday slights to inadequate legal punishments for rape.
. The New Republic credited the book's main essay with "launching the term mansplaining"
Each section is a concise summary essay covering a different year and a different facet of women's lives in a patriarchal society.
In the first essay, we examine how men prevent women from expressing themselves by interrupting them and telling them how to evaluate their own ideas.
Solnit argues that erasing women's voices is itself violent and explains how the cycle keeps going.
. In addition, she offers suggestions for how we can all help eradicate sexism and misogyny from our society.
Gender inequality in politics and society, as well as domestic violence and the culture of rape, are explored in other essays.
Men Explain Things to Me has been lauded for its accessible writing style and insightful analysis of gender politics.
How to Stop Feeling Like Sh*t by Andrea Owen:
Self-doubt and the pursuit of perfection are two examples of the negative thought patterns that can hold women back from achieving their goals. In order to break free from these habits and live our best lives, Owen provides helpful advice and exercises in his book.
Self-help book for women "How to Stop Feeling Like Sh*t" by Andrea Owen provides honest guidance on the most common forms of self-destruction that women use to bring themselves down.
This book is a no-nonsense manual for kicking the bad habits that are holding you back from the joy and success you deserve.
Life coach and motivational speaker Andrea Owen breaks down the causes of several destructive patterns, such as catastrophizing, people-pleasing, and giving in to the imposter complex or one's inner critic.
This book takes a no-nonsense approach to helping women better themselves.
.Provides unvarnished truth about the most common forms of female self-destruction.
The chapters are concise and easy to read, skipping over in-depth analyses for quick insights.
Her book forces women out of their comfort zones and gives them the tools to craft lives that are richer and more meaningful to them.
As a teacher, Andrea Owen never tries to pass on knowledge that she does not possess herself. She is totally forthright about the hardships she's endured in the past, as well as the efforts she made to adapt to new circumstances. The book provides concrete actionable steps with no BS advice
My Life On The Road by Gloria Steinem:
Gloria Steinem, a feminist activist, wrote a memoir called My Life on the Road in which she reflects on the lessons she has learned on the road to becoming a political organizer[1]. Growing up, Steinem had to keep up with her parents who were restless nomads. She didn't start living "the most conventional lifestyle" until her mother, who craved stability, divorced her father, who was constantly uprooting the family[.
Steinem has spent her entire life on the road, and this book is her vision of what it means to live. She mulls over how her activism in the women's movement has developed as a result of her travels and the lessons she has learned from others.
Steinem, whose adult life was marked by extensive travel, reflects on her formative years in the autobiography My Life on the Road.
She discusses issues like violence and human trafficking, even writing a previously unpublished essay on sex trafficking called "The Third Way". Steinem's vision of what it means to live fully is presented in this book, and it both enlightens and inspires its readers.
How to Be a Bawse by Lilly Singh:
In her book "How to Be a Bawse: A Guide to Conquering Life," internet celebrity Lilly Singh, who is also a popular YouTuber and late-night talk show host, offers advice on how to succeed in life. The book is about developing the traits necessary to become a "BAWSE," or a self-reliant, compassionate leader.
The book has been around since March 28, 2017, and it has a total of 315 pages.
In the book, Singh reveals her personal history and offers advice on how to achieve and maintain success. She analyses her achievements and makes passing reference to her background and depression.
Uncomfort as currency, managing one's responses to others and to situations, consistently telling the truth, not giving up on something before giving it your best shot—all these and more are discussed in the book.
Those who read the book praised it for its candid portrayal of Singh's wild lifestyle. It was interesting to read about the accomplishments she made in her professional life, too. A nonfiction book, "How to Be a Bawse," was named the 2017 Nonfiction Book of the Year by the readers of Goodreads.
Becoming by Michelle Obama:
Michelle Obama's autobiography, titled "Becoming," details her life after serving as first lady of the United States.
It's been said that the book is "deeply personal," as it details her life from childhood on the South Side of Chicago to years as an executive juggling the demands of motherhood and work to her time in the White House to her return to private life.
Becoming successfully juggles three narrative strands—a coming-of-age story, a love story, and a family saga. The book is friendly, insightful, and eye-opening. It includes Mrs. Obama's public and private successes and failures.
The openness and honesty of Becoming have been praised.
It gives readers a glimpse into Michelle Obama's life and the events that shaped her into the person she is today. Common Core State Standards (CCSS)-aligned reading group resources (such as discussion questions, suggested reading lists, introductions, author Q&As, and young adult-specific guides) have been created for this book.
The Confidence Code by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman:
A book by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman titled "The Confidence Code:
The Science and Art of Self-Assurance—What Women Should Know" addresses this topic.
According to the authors, a lack of self-assurance is the primary cause of women's lagging behind men's achievements in many fields.
They utilise state-of-the-art studies in genetics, sex, cognition, and behavioural science to discuss why women struggle with self-confidence and how to help them.
Taking risks, developing resilience, and welcoming failure are just a few of the suggestions offered in this book for bolstering your self-assurance.
There are also interviews with accomplished women who talk about their journeys to self-assurance.
Critics and readers have both praised The Confidence Code. Its readable tone, insightful analysis, and useful advice have all earned it high marks from reviewers.
The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Forbes, among others, have all reviewed and praised the book. Sheryl Sandberg, Arianna Huffington, and Mika Brzezinski, among others, have all publicly expressed their support for it.
In sum, "The Confidence Code" is an excellent tool for anyone working to improve their self-assurance, but especially women who may face additional obstacles.
Gross Anatomy by Mara Altman:
Published in August of 2018, "Gross Anatomy: Dispatches From the Front (And Back)" is written by Mara Altman.
This book is a compilation of essays that investigate the biological and social roots of body shame. Altman discusses her own body hair, sweat, and camel toe to make the reader more at ease with their own peculiar bodily processes.
She also conducts interviews with experts who try to address the concerns most people would rather not bring up in polite company.
The book is humorous, insightful, and a combination of the two ; it is also partially autobiographical.
Reviews of Altman's book consistently praise it as both entertaining and motivating[4]. Through humorous personal essays, it examines societal ideals of the female form[4]. Foot, armpit, and pubic hair are just a few examples of the body regions used as chapter headings in this book. The goal of "Gross Anatomy" is to get people to stop being ashamed of their bodies and start appreciating them for what they are.
Women Who Think Too Much by Dr. Susan Nolen-Hoeksema:
Dr. Susan Nolen-Hoeksema published a book titled Women Who Think Too Much in 2003[1]. According to the book, women who are experiencing an episode of excessive thinking believe that they have no choice but to continue to dwell on their obsessions.
Overthinking or rumination occurs when a person repeatedly ruminates on a problem, bringing up and dwelling on upsetting thoughts, feelings, and experiences. Nolen-Hoeksema found that 57% of women and 43% of men in the 25-35 age range ruminate, with the former being more common.
If you're struggling with excessive contemplation and want to take back control of your life, this book can help. Additionally, it delves into the gender differences in stress exposure, the coping mechanisms of caring for others and making friends in the face of adversity, and the emotional connection between stress and depression in women.
In addition to her groundbreaking research on ruminating, Nolen-Hoeksema was also the first editor of the Annual Review of Clinical Psychology. In 2013, at the age of 53, she passed away.
Despite its age, Women Who Think Too Much continues to be a best-seller thanks to the wisdom it imparts on the perils of excessive contemplation and the means by which it can be avoided.