Women’s Empowerment

Hey girl. We see you, wandering through life trapped in a female flesh prison. Trying to balance work and home life. Making that Pinterest pony cake that turned out looking like a pink bridge troll. How do you approach getting a raise without seeming “pushy”? Would David from accounting be asking the same question? Are you emotionally stable enough to contemplate bangs? All valid questions, and look, we may not have all the answers, but where we fall short, the next few female authors can answer all these and more. Between active mentoring and self-help advice, to inspiring examples of empowered figures, the following audiobooks demonstrate the true power and ability that resides in all women. Lastly, though we can confidently say step away from the scissors, bangs are not a substitute for therapy.

Quit Like a Woman- Holly Whitaker

Quit Like A Woman- Holly Whitaker

“Wine o’clock.” “Rose all day.” “Mom juice.” We’ve all heard these terms, making an afternoon Chardonnay seem as normal spending hours doom scrolling on the ‘gram. (Really, how does one handle the doom scroll without that Moscow Mule?) Enter, Holly Whitaker, who’s here to break through our cultural acceptance of casual (and somewhat constant) drinking. She explores how pervasive drinking culture really is, especially for women, and asks how as a society we can reconcile our obsession with both ashwagandha and aperitifs. She explores how all existing recovery methods are both outdated and inherently misogynistic and designed for male sobriety. Her recovery is based less on a higher power and more on a healthy relationship with self, and she even has a female centered support group so all your sober sisterhood dreams can come true! *squeals in seltzer and female centered growth* 

The Moment of Lift- Melinda Gates

The Moment of Lift- Melinda Gates

Yeah, that’s right. As in she’s married to Bill Gates. And we now also know that despite the book title, she is not in fact, a pilot. Though female pilots are pretty cool. Anyway. The” lift” Gates is referring to is the status of women, specifically in the third world and how this social improvement benefits the world at large. To truly achieve female empowerment, we must make sure we include all women, and this account of the plight of women of color from completely different cultures offers much needed perspective. I’m truly just skimming the surface here, these are complex issue that Gates breaks down beautifully. She also addresses child brides, which like, no thank you. Can we not? K, thanks. 

I Am Malala- Malala Yousafzai

I Am Malala- Malala Yousafzai

You know, this is just the autobiography of a child activist in Pakistan who stood up to the Taliban. Casual. Yousafzai describes following in the footsteps of her father who was a dedicated educator, especially of women, when a regime change decided that wasn’t cool. Know what’s trash? The Taliban. She writes about how she just wanted to learn and inadvertently started a revolution. Tell this story to your kid who’s on their third e-learning meltdown. She was eventually shot in the head by a literal gremlin for the audacity of wanting to go to school but spoiler miracle alert, she survived to kick butt another day. This is a tale of bravery, family, education, and feminism, and we should all listen.

Becoming- Michelle Obama

Becoming- Michelle Obama

Obama’s autobiography, aka our personal handbook of everything that makes her tick so we can make her our best friend, is literary excellence. Humble, humorous, and eloquent, Obama starts with sharing her early life in Chicago as she learned the value of independence from her hard-working parents. She tells how it was this independence that would carry her to the Ivy Leagues and was a vital component as she tackled the role of First Lady. She chronicles her courtship with Barack (swoon), as well as their unlikely path to the White House, and balancing motherhood and her duties to country. We’re still waiting on reports to indicate if she reveals her arm workouts though; let’s admit it, that’s why we’re all here.

Lean In- Sheryl Sandberg 

Lean In- Sheryl Sandberg

In Lean In, Sandberg explores certain common obstacles that pop up in life, and searches for ways to overcome them. Be it the burden of parenting commonly falling on the mother, office successes and failures, or even general likability she breaks down these roadblocks and the role they play in holding women back. And most importantly, how to get them out of your way. These topics are interlaced with commentary from other greats like Tina Fey and Betty Friedan, to name a few. Have a listen if you’ve ever wondered if there’s a way around all that’s holding you back from your true potential and become a braver wife/mother/friend! We’ll be listening to see if we eventually feel empowered enough to finally make our own doctors’ appointments over the phone. #millenial 

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