Your reading list for Women’s History Month — and beyond!
I love reading stories about women who are out there in the world really making a difference. Maybe they’ve invented an innovative product or started a company that employs thousands. Perhaps they changed the law, stood up for what’s right, demanded justice, or sought fairness.
The women on this list all did one or more of these things. And then they wrote a book about it. Yeah, they’re that impressive.
So, for Women’s History Month, I wanted to revisit some of the women in recent history who have changed the world in small and big ways, all equally important, and then wrote a book about it. These are women whose lives and lessons are so vast and inspiring, they can’t share all their wisdom in a sentence or a tweet. They had to put it down on paper for the world to consume. So, this March, and beyond, read these books by inspiring women. Spoiler alert: You’ll probably feel like you can go out and conquer the world afterward.
Best Books By Inspiring Women
Mori Taheripour, Bring Yourself: How to Harness the Power of Connection to Negotiate Fearlessly
This Wharton MBA professor is a total rock star when it comes to advocating for what women want – and teaching them how to get it. For anyone else out there who can always use some fine-tuning tips in negotiating, whether that’s cajoling your little one to bed, buying a new home, or finalizing a deal at work, the tips in this book are useful, practical, and shrewd. But what’s really great is Mori’s story and how she raced up to the top of her field.
Listen to my podcast with Mori Taheripour.
Kara Goldin, Undaunted: Overcoming Doubts and Doubters
You’ll never drink Hint: Water the same way again. Founder Kara Goldin outlines the many obstacles she overcame to founding a mainstay in the water category, one she thought of to help her kids drink more water. Kara’s marriage and family, her mental health, and every part of her life took a hit on her way to constant innovation, which she describes in this inspiring read.
Listen to my podcast with Kara Goldin.
Payal Kadakia, LifePass: Drop Your Limits, Rise to Your Potential
What other Bain consultant was a dancer on the side?! Payal Kadakia’s after-work itch to dance and exercise led her to found ClassPass, an entire business she founded, grew, managed, and then sold by pursuing what meant the most to her and solving a problem: Figuring out where to work out herself.
Listen to my podcast with Payal Kadakia.
Katie Couric, Going There
OK, who is more inspiring than our captain here at Katie Couric Media? Katie told it like it was, sparing no one and nothing, in her depiction of the past and how she navigated the tricky terrain on her climb to the top. The most compelling parts were when she learned how to parent her way through intense grief.
Listen to my podcast with Katie.
Gretchen Carlson, Be Fierce: Stop Harassment and Take Your Power Back
I jumped in celebration when I heard that former FOX News anchor Gretchen Carlson had her own bill passed through the House and the Senate mandating that forced arbitration clauses were unlawful in corporate contracts. What does this mean? Carlson is fighting for women who, like her, may or will be controlled by paperwork when navigating harassment in the workplace. This mom is a powerhouse who’s reaching across the aisle to affect sustainable change.
Listen to my podcast with Gretchen Carlson.
Alyssa Milano, Sorry Not Sorry
A long, long time ago, author and activist Alyssa Milano was best known as a child actress. Now she is a force to be reckoned with, a humanitarian, a fighter, a leader, and a total powerhouse. She tells her story in a series of essays with lyrical repetition, emotional nuance, and effortless ease.
Listen to my podcast with Alyssa Milano.
Lolo Jones, Over It: How to Face Life’s Hurdles with Grit, Hustle, and Grace
Yes, she fell in the Olympics. But Lolo Jones picked herself up, kept going, and is still racing and training. She shares elements of her family history being raised by a single mother and having a father in prison, yet how she overcame all obstacles to get her spikes on the right track.
Listen to my podcast with Lolo Jones.
Malala Yousafzai, I Am Malala
When the Taliban took control of her hometown in Pakistan, Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education. It almost cost her her life. While riding a school bus at the age of 15, she was shot in the head. She wasn’t expected to survive, but she did. And she went on to write a memoir about her fight for her life and education, her family who supported her along the way, and becoming a global symbol of peaceful protest before becoming the youngest nominee ever for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Michelle Obama, Becoming
If you think you couldn’t love Michelle Obama more, wait until you read her memoir. In her No. 1 bestselling memoir, the former first lady chronicles the experiences that have shaped her — from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing motherhood and work to her time spent in the White House. Unsurprising, her memoir is incredibly honest and includes not only her successes but all of her disappointments, both public and private.
Clarissa Ward, On All Fronts: The Education of a Journalist
She was that reporter, the CNN journalist on the ground in Afghanistan when all foreigners were required to evacuate. Now she’s in Ukraine reporting live on the impending showdown with Russia. In her book, Clarissa Ward shares her story of becoming a daring reporter and how becoming a mother affected her decisions, but her story is still unfolding before our very eyes on CNN.
Listen to my podcast with Clarissa Ward.
Alicia Garza, The Purpose of Power
In The Purpose of Power, you’ll learn about the origin of the Black Lives Matter movement through the eyes of its co-founder Alicia Garza. She uses her own story and journey, from her first lessons in politics taught by her mom to watching the 1992 L.A. riots on television as a child to the Ferguson uprising and the birth of the Black Lives Matter movement, to help readers understand the reason this movement came to be. While the release of Garza’s book was incredibly timely when it came out in 2020, in the midst of a long-overdue racial reckoning, its message is timeless.
Her story will inspire you to act as she shows you what her vision of the future looks like.
Mallory Weggemann, Limitless: The Power of Hope and Resilience to Overcome Circumstance
Mallory Weggemann went in for a routine epidural injection for back pain when she was a young swimmer. She came out paralyzed – yet empowered. Weggemann went on to become a multi-award-winning Paralympic swimmer, and keeps training even now, years later, to win more, share more, and help others. She sees it as her mission to be in the chair and share her story, one that will soon be on-screen as both a feature film and documentary.
Listen to my podcast with Mallory Weggemann.
