The Book of Gutsy Women
Favourite Stories of Courage and Resilience
Hillary Rodham Clinton ; Chelsea Clinton
- She
- couldn’t
- have
- been
- more
- than
- seven
- or
- eight
- years
- old.
- “Go
- ahead,
- ask
- your
- question,”
- her
- father
- urged,
- nudging
- her
- forward.
- She
- smiled
- shyly
- and
- said,
- “You’re
- my
- hero.
- Who’s
- yours?”
Many
- people—especially
- girls—have
- asked
- us
- that
- same
- question
- over
- the
- years.
- It’s
- one
- of
- our
- favorite
- topics.HILLARY:
- Growing
- up,
- I
- knew
- hardly
- any
- women
- who
- worked
- outside
- the
- home.
- So
- I
- looked
- to
- my
- mother,
- my
- teachers,
- and
- the
- pages
- of
- Life
- magazine
- for
- inspiration.
- After
- learning
- that
- Amelia
- Earhart
- kept
- a
- scrapbook
- with
- newspaper
- articles
- about
- successful
- women
- in
- male-dominated
- jobs,
- I
- started
- a
- scrapbook
- of
- my
- own.
- Long
- after
- I
- stopped
- clipping
- articles,
- I
- continued
- to
- seek
- out
- stories
- of
- women
- who
- seemed
- to
- be
- redefining
- what
- was
- possible.CHELSEA:
- This
- book
- is
- the
- continuation
- of
- a
- conversation
- the
- two
- of
- us
- have
- been
- having
- since
- I
- was
- little.
- For
- me,
- too,
- my
- mom
- was
- a
- hero;
- so
- were
- my
- grandmothers.
- My
- early
- teachers
- were
- also
- women.
- But
- I
- grew
- up
- in
- a
- world
- very
- different
- from
- theirs.
- My
- pediatrician
- was
- a
- woman,
- and
- so
- was
- the
- first
- mayor
- of
- Little
- Rock
- who
- I
- remember
- from
- my
- childhood.
- Most
- of
- my
- close
- friends’
- moms
- worked
- outside
- the
- home
- as
- nurses,
- doctors,
- teachers,
- professors,
- and
- in
- business.
- And
- women
- were
- going
- into
- space
- and
- breaking
- records
- here
- on
- Earth.Ensuring
- the
- rights
- and
- opportunities
- of
- women
- and
- girls
- remains
- a
- big
- piece
- of
- the
- unfinished
- business
- of
- the
- twenty-first
- century.
- While
- there’s
- a
- lot
- of
- work
- to
- do,
- we
- know
- that
- throughout
- history
- and
- around
- the
- globe
- women
- have
- overcome
- the
- toughest
- resistance
- imaginable
- to
- win
- victories
- that
- have
- made
- progress
- possible
- for
- all
- of
- us.
- That
- is
- the
- achievement
- of
- each
- of
- the
- women
- in
- this
- book.
So
- how
- did
- they
- do
- it?
- The
- answers
- are
- as
- unique
- as
- the
- women
- themselves.
- Civil
- rights
- activist
- Dorothy
- Height,
- LGBTQ
- trailblazer
- Edie
- Windsor,
- and
- swimmer
- Diana
- Nyad
- kept
- pushing
- forward,
- no
- matter
- what.
- Writers
- like
- Rachel
- Carson
- and
- Chimamanda
- Ngozi
- Adichie
- named
- something
- no
- one
- had
- dared
- talk
- about
- before.
- Historian
- Mary
- Beard
- used
- wit
- to
- open
- doors
- that
- were
- once
- closed,
- and
- Wangari
- Maathai,
- who
- sparked
- a
- movement
- to
- plant
- trees,
- understood
- the
- power
- of
- role
- modeling.
- Harriet
- Tubman
- and
- Malala
- Yousafzai
- looked
- fear
- in
- the
- face
- and
- persevered.
- Nearly
- every
- single
- one
- of
- these
- women
- was
- fiercely
- optimistic—they
- had
- faith
- that
- their
- actions
- could
- make
- a
- difference.
- And
- they
- were
- right.
To
- us,
- they
- are
- all
- gutsy
- women—leaders
- with
- the
- courage
- to
- stand
- up
- to
- the
- status
- quo,
- ask
- hard
- questions,
- and
- get
- the
- job
- done.
- So
- in
- the
- moments
- when
- the
- long
- haul
- seems
- awfully
- long,
- we
- hope
- you
- will
- draw
- strength
- from
- these
- stories.
- We
- do.
- Because
- if
- history
- shows
- one
- thing,
- it’s
- that
- the
- world
- needs
- gutsy women.
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