What’s a gutsy woman? Some may describe her as a woman who breaks barriers – who follows in the footsteps of distinguished women such as Eleanor Roosevelt to use her power as First Lady of the United States to influence powerful and compelling legislation. A gutsy woman would go on to be the senator of the great state of New York before ascending to Secretary of State, serving under the nation’s first black president, Barack Obama. And just when you think she’s hit the glass ceiling, she would go on to make history as the first female Democratic nominee for President of the United States of America.
But that’s just one example. A gutsy woman can also simply just be a woman with the courage to share her inspirations, her heroes and her thoughts – all while leading as a positive role model to young girls along the way. If you haven’t guessed it by now, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton are two gutsy women, and in this book, they share stories of the fellow like-minded women who inspired them along the way.
I first heard about The Book of Gutsy Women while watching the mother-daughter duo on "The Daily Show with Trevor Noah." Politics aside, I’ve always admired the courage of Hillary Clinton, and always had a keen interest in what shaped and molded her into the brilliant and powerful woman she is today. So when I heard that this book was made as a tribute to all of her heroes, I was instantly sold.
The book begins with the story of Harriet Tubman, who is most popular for her work as an abolitionist in the 1800’s. But beyond that, what many may not know about Tubman was that in addition to freeing hundreds of slaves (which is gutsy within itself), Tubman also worked as a Union spy, advancing the cause of freedom and helping the North gain victory over the Confederate soldiers. This, in my opinion, is what kept me hooked. The book highlights multitudes of women – some known, and some not so known, and sheds light on their accomplishments, elevating facts about them that we may not have learned in our history classes.
As a result of this book, I also had the pleasure of learning about many other inspiring women, such as Mary Beard, a brilliant classicist who, in response to an utterly useless man a British television critic’s comment that she’s too unattractive to appear on television, said,
“’I’m every inch of the 57-year-old wife, mum and academic, half-proud of her wrinkles, her crow’s feet, even her hunched shoulders from all of those misspent years pouring over a library desk… The real point is not what I look like, but what I do.’”
Such a classy response is the essence of what makes this book so special – the emphasis that a woman’s worth is not based on what she looks like, what family she’s born into, or who she’s married to, but the mass amount of positive change she can bring into this world.
The Book of Gutsy Women, written in a back and forth dialogue between the two authors, honors female pioneers in education, sports, medicine, science, climate, social change and beyond. This moving book highlights the potential that we all have when we pursue our passions, our goals, and refuse to let the confines of societal expectations define us. So many women in this book were told no, you can’t do this because you’re a woman. But for every major accomplishment a woman has made in this world despite hearing the word no, imagine how much more we could achieve as a society if we stopped discouraging women from achieving their dreams, and started becoming active and encouraging participants in their goals.
Everyone’s definition of a gutsy woman is different, and can change over time, but with a little help from this book, and heroes of your own, you just may find yourself inspired to make a change in this world, one gutsy decision at a time.
