In honor of March being Women’s History Month, it’s time to dive into a world of remarkable stories, untold journeys, and extraordinary achievements. Women have been integral in shaping the world through their heroism, tenacity, and courage, and have been pushing societal norms and inspiring change for centuries. As we commemorate this month, we wanted to share a literary exploration into some of these women’s fictional and non-fictional lives and highlight their resilience, strength, and invaluable contributions to the world.
Fiction
1. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Evelyn Hugo comes from a poor background but marries one of the first of her seven husbands to bolster her career and ultimately, move to Hollywood. This novel covers the entirety of Hugo’s life, and revolves around the many challenges that come with each of her seven marriages.
2. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a creature unlike anything she’s seen comes to claim retribution. Feyre is taken to a treacherous mythical land outside of the human realm, where danger and lethality lurk in every corner. Feyre discovers that her captor is not a beast, but one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled her world. While she begins to make herself at home, she realizes everything is not as it appears. A dangerous, ancient shadow is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it, or risk losing the ones she loves forever.
3. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
This story follows the journey of eighteen-year-old assassin, Celaena Sardothien, in a corrupt kingdom ruled by a tyrant, the King of Adarlan. As the tale progresses, Celaena forms unexpected bonds and discovers a conspiracy amidst her adventures. She comes not to kill the king, but to defeat the evil darkness that looms inside the kingdom.
Non-Fiction
4. The Three Mothers by Anna Malaika Tubbs
In this book, scholar Anna Malaika Tubbs celebrates Black motherhood by telling the story of the three women who raised and shaped three of America’s most pivotal figures: Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin. Much has been written about these extraordinary men, but not much is known about the women who raised them. These three mothers taught resilience and the fundamental belief in the worth of Black people to their sons, and how to grow up in a racist world. These women, hold a significant weight in the story of Black resilience and represent a piece of history left untold that is a powerful celebration of Black motherhood.
5. Madame Fourcade’s Secret War by Lynne Olson
Marie-Madeleine Fourcade was the woman who headed the largest spy network in occupied France during World War II. In this little known true story, readers are taken back to 1941 France, to recount the story of a young mother who became the leader of a vast intelligence organization—the only woman to serve as a chef de resistance during the war. Readers can follow Madam Fourcade’s story, as she is captured twice by Nazis, and successfully escapes to lead a revolution in her wake.
6. All That She Carried by Tiya Miles
In the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture sits a rough cotton bag, called Ashley’s Sack, embroidered with a few words and holding the history of loss, love, and passed down through generations. In this book, historian Tiya Miles carefully unearths Ashley’s poignant story of resilience and women who beat steep odds. This book honors the history of preserved family ties and shares the path they took to eventually find freedom in the United States.
7. Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, from Missiles to the Moon to Mars by Nathalia Holt
This book tells the riveting story of the women who launched America into space. In the 1940s and 50s, when the newly minted Jet Propulsion Laboratory needed quick-witted mathematicians to calculate velocities and plot trajectories, they didn’t turn to their male counterparts. Instead, the laboratory turned to an elite group of young women with mathematical prowess that transformed rocket design and propelled the United States into space. These women changed the trajectory of space travel forever, and in turn, made the exploration of the solar system possible.
8. My Side of the River by Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez
Born into a family of Mexican immigrants south of the Rillito River in Tucson, Arizona, Elizabeth held the world in her hands as the top of her high school class. However, things take a turn when her parents’ visas expire and force the entire family to move to Mexico. While Elizabeth holds a high standing in her education, it’s up to her to care for her brother and break the cycle in her family. In this memoir, Elizabeth follows a path of love and the pursuit of happiness to make her dreams a reality.
