5 Books I Desperately Wish Every Woman Would Read
Challenge your limits and grow beyond your wildest dreams with these incredibly inspiring books.
I’m not a huge believer in picking books specific to your gender.
But being a woman and making friends with so many women all through my life, I know the struggles we face. Sometimes, it breaks my heart how so much of the pain we bear could easily be avoided if only we were more self-aware.
That brings me to why I wrote this article.
Here, I’ve listed five books that have caused significant mindset shifts in my life. At different points in my life, I’ve gifted them to my friends and sisters, and I recommend these to every young woman who asks for what to read next.
If you identify as a woman, you should definitely read these books. If not, you should still read them for a better understanding of how life looks different through the eyes of the opposite gender. They will broaden your horizons of comprehension and leave you a better human being.
If you find your favorite books among this list, don’t forget to leave a comment and let me know your thoughts.
(Note: This article contains affiliate links. If you choose to purchase the books through these links, it will help me earn a small amount of money — at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support!)
1. The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World by Melinda Gates
In this candid and inspiring book, Melinda Gates traces her awakening to the link between women’s empowerment and the health of societies.
The prose covers many ways women and underprivileged groups are pushed down all over the world throughout the ages.
The book also discusses how the goals of society have changed since, and how an understanding of its needs and obstacles has increased. With this increased awareness, the empowerment of women no longer remains a choice, but a necessity.
Melinda Gates has gracefully intertwined these stories with data and her opinions resulting from personal experience.
The book impresses upon the reader the importance of being flexible and willing to change your mind in order to accomplish true equality.
“Overcoming the need to create outsiders is our greatest challenge as human beings. It is the key to ending deep inequality. We stigmatize and send to the margins people who trigger in us the feelings we want to avoid.”
How this book can help you as a woman
Overall, it’s an incredible read. What stood out to me was how Melinda Gates tied up seemingly unrelated topics, for example, why contraceptives are so important for lifting up women and giving them the choice of what to do with their bodies. The best part is that the author addresses the roots, not the symptoms of these issues.
This book gave me the push to actually take bold steps and advance my life and career in the direction I want to. I recommend this to every woman at the start of something new (be it a job, a relationship, or simply a new role) in her life.
2. Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
A treatise on living your best life as a creative person — this book is filled with theories and anecdotes that will change the way you look at your workflow.
Liz Gilbert puts forward the idea that the universe buries strange jewels deep within all the living beings and then stands back to see if we can find them. The hunt to uncover these jewels is what she calls Creative Living.
The biggest obstacle between where you are now, and your creative best is fear. It tries to hold you back from achieving your potential. This book teaches you to befriend that fear and uncover the jewels hidden in your soul.
“A creative life is an amplified life. It’s a bigger life, a happier life, an expanded life, and a hell of a lot more interesting life. Living in this manner — continually and stubbornly bringing forth the jewels that are hidden within you — is a fine art, in and of itself.”
How this book can help you as a woman
This is a take on embracing your creativity, but the fact that it’s written by a woman was so inspiring. Elizabeth Gilbert’s friendly language was like a warm hug and a reminder that if she can step up and achieve so much at such a young age, I can do the same.
If you’re a writer or taking up a career that’s fueled by creativity, I’d strongly recommend you read this book. It not only inspires you to think out of the box but also gives you the confidence to work on your ideas, even though they might not always be 100% unique or original.
3. Secrets of Six-Figure Women by Barbara Stanny
Barbara Stanny has interviewed some incredible woman achievers in this book to provide the reader with role models they can emulate.
The book does an amazing job of showing readers that women who earn good money are not defined by the men in their lives. But that doesn’t mean they have their priorities messed up and are cold-hearted robots.
By presenting these stories in an open, honest account, Stanny shows us that high-earning women can be passionate about their work and also be deeply invested in advancing social welfare. The reason they’re doing well in life is because they have confidence in their ability to provide value. They aren’t afraid to express their worth to their clients — a trait most women subconsciously practice all their lives.
How this book can help you as a woman
This book opened my eyes to so much stigma I didn’t even realize I’d been carrying around my whole life. More than making me understand I was earning much less than what I was worth, it opened my eyes to the fact that I wasn’t even trying.
The book inspires a lot of self-reflection about value. This includes the core values we hold dear, as well as the way we value (or undervalue) ourselves. Read this if you struggle to pay the bills every month, and trust me, you’ll be a changed woman afterward.
4. What My Mother and I Don’t Talk About by Michele Filgate
Genre: Non-fiction/Personal essay
A collection of bold, brave, unabashed stories from sons and daughters recounting their relationships with their mothers. This book is filled with anecdotes that will touch, leave you in awe, and make you wonder how people from two separate corners of the world can lead such different lives, and yet, share these similar emotions.
If you ever feel conflicted about not loving your parents enough, this is the book you should read. Listen to the audiobook. The performances make it worth the time invested. 100% would recommend.
How this book can help you as a woman
Every woman I’ve talked to has confessed to having a conflicted relationship with her mother. There are always some expectations their mothers didn’t fulfill and there were many ways they wish they could have been a better daughter.
This book helped me realize that no matter how many times my mother disappoints me, she’s still a human, and like everyone else, she’s allowed to make mistakes. If I can’t be perfect myself, how can I expect perfection from her?
It’s strange and wonderful that stories from fifteen strangers living in radically different circumstances helped salvage my relationship with my mother. I want every young woman who’s ever felt let down by her mother to read this book.
5. Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg
Sandberg’s autobiography has often been criticized that it is only relevant to rich elite women who can afford to ignore their families on their quest to become successful.
Trust me, I’m nothing like that, and yet, there was a lot in this book that spoke to me. Sheryl Sandberg made me feel that even though I’m a woman, it’s okay to be ambitious. That I can take credit for my accomplishments and that doesn’t make me conceited in any way.
The tone of the book is not preachy or militant. Sandberg sounds friendly and approachable, as she talks about her own struggles on how she made it to the COO of Facebook and one of the most powerful businesswomen on the planet.
How this book can help you as a woman
This book is a guide to help both women and men to recognize that being aware of subtle gender biases can go a long way towards eliminating the gender inequality that exists in the workplace.
Aside from that, read this book if you want to get a surge of confidence. It will fill you with the assertiveness to tell the whole world that you’re worthy and can accomplish tremendous goals.
It can be your perk-me-up on bad days, the only pep talk you need before embarking on a new project.
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