Four different women share their life-changing experiences in various memoirs that tell the story of modern women.
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Know My Name
by Chanel Miller
In 2015, Stanford University athlete Brock Turner sexually assaulted “Emily Doe” on campus. In the resulting court case, Turner was sentenced to only six months in jail (of which he served only three before being released). The ensuing controversy set off discussions on privilege and the impact of the legal system in sexual assault. In 2019, Chanel Miller revealed that she was “Emily Doe” and released Know My Name, her memoir describing the event, the aftermath, the media attention, and the issues that she continues to deal with. It is a story of survival and the power of one woman’s bravery in the face of insurmountable odds.
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Everything I Know About Love
by Dolly Alderton
From Former Sunday Times columnist and co-host of weekly pop-culture and current affairs podcast The High Low, Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton is the kind of coming-of-age story that is tailor-made for anyone unsure about the next steps to take when early adulthood hits and suddenly, we’re all alone in the world and in charge of ourselves. As Dolly succinctly shares, there isn’t one way of doing life right; we just have to enjoy the ride.
The Education Of An Idealist
by Samantha Power
Former war correspondent and Barack Obama’s US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power’s memoir is a searching examination of what happens when a one-time activist becomes a government insider. The tension exists between wanting to do what is right versus what must be weighed in between the different factors that dictate US foreign policy, particularly when it comes to issues like military intervention in the Middle East. The best memoirs are those that don’t hold back and welcome discussion and criticism, which this one certainly does.
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Educated
by Tara Westover
By now, everyone must have read Tara Westover’s compelling account of her childhood, but if you haven’t, now is the perfect time to do so. Raised in rural Idaho by Mormon survivalist parents who didn’t believe in public healthcare, the public school system and government services, Westover and her six siblings grew up isolated from the world, which allowed abuse to fester within the family. When she took advantage of loopholes that allowed her to apply to university, it started a break from her parents and opened her mind to a whole world she knew nothing about. In the years since its release in 2018, Educated spent two years in the New York Times Best Seller’s List and was on Barack Obama’s list of books of the year. Much has been debated about its veracity, but the book remains an inspiring read on the power of self-belief and knowledge.
