A moment of reflection and gratitude for women's history month

  

 

 

For Women’s History month, I’d like to note how grateful I am for the brave women who came be for me.

        Those who pushed boundaries. 

        And challenged authorities. 

        And asked hard questions. 

        And didn’t take no for an answer.

        There have been (and continue to be) so many warrior women who’ve broken down barriers and used their influences to empower others in meaningful ways.

        Thank you to those courageous women who fought so hard so that other women could have a seat in the classroom, in the boardroom, in the courtroom, in the OR, and in all of the rooms where decisions are being made; and so that we could have a voice, a vote, a say, a choice, a purpose, a vocation, a family dynamic that didn’t have to fit within the parameters of some “man-made” definition of what makes a “real” family...

        I’m thankful for the women who suffered for my freedoms, who did what they felt was right rather than what they felt was easy. I’m inspired by them not just in the month of March but nearly every day, and I hope in some way my actions, my choices, my questions, my words, can help support other women wherever they are on their journey – a journey on which empathy, respect, and compassion must be a priority. 

 

Here are ten of my top favorite reads by female authors (in no particular order):

 

1.     The Awakening by Kate Chopin

 

2.     Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

 

3.     I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

 

4.     Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

 

5.     “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

 

6.     A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf

 

7.     White Oleander by Janet Fitch

 

8.     Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

 

9.     The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

 

10.  The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison