In Praise of Difficult Women
Books | Biography & Autobiography / Women
3.4
Karen Karbo
From Frida Kahlo and Elizabeth Taylor to Nora Ephron, Carrie Fisher, and Lena Dunham, this witty narrative explores what we can learn from the imperfect and extraordinary legacies of 29 iconic women who forged their own unique paths in the world.Smart, sassy, and unapologetically feminine, this elegantly illustrated book is an ode to the bold and charismatic women of modern history. Best-selling author Karen Karbo (The Gospel According to Coco Chanel) spotlights the spirited rule breakers who charted their way with little regard for expectations: Amelia Earhart, Helen Gurley Brown, Edie Sedgwick, Hillary Clinton, Amy Poehler, and Shonda Rhimes, among others. Their lives--imperfect, elegant, messy, glorious--provide inspiration and instruction for the new age of feminism we have entered. Karbo distills these lessons with wit and humor, examining the universal themes that connect us to each of these mesmerizing personalities today: success and style, love and authenticity, daring and courage. Being "difficult," Karbo reveals, might not make life easier. But it can make it more fulfilling--whatever that means for you.In the Reader's Guide included in the back of the book, Karbo asks thought-provoking questions about how we relate to each woman that will make for fascinating book club conversation.
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Author
Karen Karbo
Pages
352
Publisher
National Geographic Society
Published Date
2018-02-27
ISBN
1426217951 9781426217951
Community ReviewsSee all
"I enjoyed this audiobook, although I would say some of the content hasn’t aged well - but perhaps that’s the whole point. Women deserve the right to be themselves, even if that self isn’t likable (I.e. JK Rowling, Coco Chanel, etc.). Doesn’t mean they deserve the right to be transphobic or antisemitic, but they shouldn’t receive more flack than men who do so merely because they deigned to be unlikable. Women’s art is seen as inextricable from their personality and life — why do men get treated differently? Ahem… Hemingway who is still read in high schools across the country, meanwhile, posters of JK Rowling were ripped down and burned by eager middle school librarians. Not saying they shouldn’t have been, but our criteria needs to be evened out, and this double-standard ripped to shreds."
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Abigail Spradlin