Book reviews
I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban – Malala Yousafzai
This book and its author are a true inspiration. Malala’s story encompasses all the things I hold important: a passion for education, equal opportunity for all girls, strength, courage in the face of true adversity and perseverance through the toughest of challenges. My synopsis doesn’t do Malala justice, I encourage every girl to read this so that they can learn anything is possible even against the biggest odds.
‘We realize the importance of our voices only when we are silenced’
‘One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world’
‘When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful’
Letter to my daughter – Maya Angelou
Dedicated to the daughter she never had, Letter to my Daughter reveals Maya Angelou’s path to living well and living a life with meaning.
“I gave birth to one child, a son, but I have thousands of daughters. You are Black and White, Jewish and Muslim, Asian, Spanish-speaking, Native American and Aleut. You are fat and thin and pretty and plain, gay and straight, educated and unlettered, and I am speaking to you all. Here is my offering to you.”
I first discovered Maya Angelou at school and I admit I didn’t appreciate her then. I have begun to re-read her autobiographical series and I am in love. I feel like she talks to me directly, like a grandmother offering me old stories that ground me, and wisdom that makes me want to do better.
This book is a series of essays that cover so many life lessons. It made me happy, sad, inspired and reflective; sometimes separately and sometimes all at the same time.
I recommend you dive into the world of Maya Angelou. She will feed your soul.
Little Women – Louise May Alcott
One of my all-time favourite books, it epitomises my advice to all young women.
Success doesn’t mean the same to all women. Being a mother, staying in the shadows happy to be surrounded by a small group of people, travelling the world or having a career; this classic novel has been inspiring us to be whatever we want to be for decades.
A must read.
Uprising – A New Age Is Dawning for Every Mother’s Daughter – Sally Armstrong
I came across this book whilst reading another of Sally Armstrong’s book ‘9 lives of Charlotte Taylor’ which I connected with because of its similarities to my great grandparents and grandparents journeys (more on that book later). I have to say it is a difficult read. This is not because it does not engage, but because it is opening my eyes to how many inequalities still exist for women around the world. It is a candid piece of writing that doesn’t hold back in demonstrating the horrors that so many women still endure.
Not for the faint-hearted and I am still working my way through this one, but I’d highly recommend. We have to understand what is going on in order to help change it.
“From Africa to Asia to the Americas, women are the key to progress on ending poverty, violence, and conflict. Award-winning humanitarian and journalist Sally Armstrong shows us why empowering women and girls is the way forward, and she introduces us to the leading females who are making change happen.“
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