Qian Julie Wang decided that she would become a lawyer. An avid reader, Wang explains, “I had come upon and gulped down condensed biographies of Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Thurgood Marshall. Ruth and Thurgood showed me that lawyers didn’t have to be men, and they didn’t have to be white.” Wang, author of Beautiful Country, […]
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The perfect affirmative-action baby
by resolutewoman on May 11, 2023 in courage, resolute-women
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor says that she is “a product of affirmative action. I am the perfect affirmative action baby. I am Puerto Rican, born and raised in the south Bronx. My test scores were not comparable to my colleagues at Princeton and Yale. Not so far off so that I wasn’t able to […]
Defining your worth
by resolutewoman on May 9, 2023 in advice, character, confidence, resolute-women
“I do know one thing about me: I don’t measure myself by others’ expectations or let others define my worth,” says Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
No need to apologize
by resolutewoman on May 6, 2023 in change, confidence, resolute-women
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor says that she has no need to apologize. The “look-wider, search-more affirmative action” that Princeton and Yale practiced opened doors for her. “That was its purpose,” she explains, “to create the conditions whereby students from disadvantaged backgrounds could be brought to the starting line of a race many were unaware […]
Great period
by resolutewoman on May 2, 2023 in book, resolute-women, sexism
The cover of the book Great Women Painters includes these three words—great women painters, but a colorful line crosses out the word women. “The title of this book states its mission,” writes Marissa Moss in a review in The New York Times. “By including the descriptor women, but crossing it out, claim is clearly made: […]
Great women painters
by resolutewoman on April 29, 2023 in resolute-women, sexism
Linda Nochlin, an art historian, once asked, “Why have there been no great women painters?” Marissa Moss, writing in The New York Times, says Nochlin and the book Great Women Painters answer the question in the same way—“by showing us a range of brilliant, talented women painters. “Because the answer is that there have always […]
Prostitution and pornography
by resolutewoman on April 2, 2023 in book, resolute-women, sexism, Uncategorized
In 2011, after Manal Al-Sharif was went to prison for driving in Saudi Arabia, the country’s highest religious council presented a report warning of the dire consequences if women were allowed to drive. Prostitution, pornography, homosexuality and divorce would “surge,” they declared. What’s more, “within 10 years, there would be no more virgins” in Saudi […]
Daring to drive
by resolutewoman on March 30, 2023 in change, character, resolute-women, sexism, Uncategorized
It was 2011 when Manal Al-Sharif dared to drive. A woman driving wasn’t illegal in Saudi Arabia. One scholar Al Albani even suggested that in Muhammad’s time women could ride a donkey; so, why not drive a car? However, women driving was considered by many to be an assault on the country’s patriarchal culture. They […]
Don’t be afraid
by resolutewoman on March 25, 2023 in courage, resolute-women
“Don’t be afraid,” says Naguib Mahfouz. “Fear won’t prevent death; it prevents life.” I found this quote in Manal Al-Sharif’s book Daring to Drive. –Joy
We showed up
by resolutewoman on February 11, 2023 in friends, resolute-women, Uncategorized
Nina Totenberg explains her friendship with Ruth Bader Ginsburg in her book Dinners with Ruth. “What we shared was the special warmth and closeness of longtime friendship. We were present in each other’s lives, especially when it mattered most. We showed up,” Totenberg says.
What’s this site about?
We wrote our book and we’re writing our blog because we were frustrated. We were frustrated with experts who try to tell people how to lose weight, raise their children and improve their marriages—and be a success—in 10 easy steps. In three weeks. In one book.
Our self-help book and blog are for grownups—for women who know that there are no easy answers to life’s complex problems—that finding solutions requires some self-knowledge and self-searching and hard work.
We want to help women discover their own answers and live with them as their guide. We want to help you and other women Help Yourself!
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