Inspiring Women Biographies

Today, millions of women and girls around the world enjoy running and entering races. It wasn't always so. First Ladies of Running tells the inspiring stories runners who refused to give up despite the cultural and sports barriers they faced. Legends such as Doris Brown, Francie Larrieu, Mary Decker, Jackie Hansen, Miki Gorman, and Grete Waitz are chronicled by Runner's World editor Amby Burfoot.

Jane Goodall is a celebrated scientist for her studies of chimpanzees in the forests of Africa. Before she observed chimps and helped save them from losing their home, Jane was a curious kid who loved learning about animals. She showed people that women could be scientists, just like men, and fought to follow her dream of working with wild chimps. Explore how Jane Goodall went from being a young nature lover in England to the most important chimpanzee expert in the world.

Leslie White knew she wanted more out of life - She found it in an unlikely place. Devastated from the loss of both parents to cancer nine months apart, Leslie vowed to change her life. She bought the neighbor’s old motorhome, found a job as a traveling histologist, and hit the road. But she found she could not trust the one person she was still holding onto.

A comprehensive biographical and critical reading of the works of American poet and memoirist Maya Angelou (1928-2014). Linda Wagner-Martin covers all six of Angelou's autobiographies, as well as her essay and poetry collections, while also exploring Angelou's life as an African American in the United States, her career as stage and film performer, her thoughtful participation in the Civil Rights actions of the 1960s, and her travels abroad in Egypt, Africa, and Europe.

Averil Mansfield established herself as a pioneer in every sense of the word when she qualified as a surgeon in the early 1970s. At the time just two per cent of her colleagues were female, and she was often met with surprise, bordering on disbelief and amusement, when telling people what she did. But time and again, Averil proved herself more than capable of the role which had been her greatest dream since the age of eight. After a formidable operating career in Liverpool and London, she went on to became the UK's first ever female professor of surgery.

Frida Kahlo is one of the most famous and celebrated artists who has ever lived. Before she made history with her beautiful paintings and brave spirit, she went through a life-changing accident that would have made many people want to give up. Instead, Frida fought to overcome her setbacks and follow her passions. In this Frida Kahlo children’s book, you’ll explore how Frida went from being a young girl in a small Mexican town to an artist who is beloved all around the world.

Dream about the kind of world you'd run. Author Shelly Rachanow shares the many ways in which women do for others, from their families to their friends to the wider world (hint: the list goes on and on). She then asks listeners to consider how much woman power has shaped the world, and turns the question to us: what are our buttkicking ideas for changing the world around us? These empowering journal prompts ask us to look inward, at our own role as women, and decide how we will make the world a better place for our children and those who come after us.

Mary Sanders was handed an Olympic dream by her father from the moment she was born. Determined to follow in his footsteps, the young gymnast struggled through training setbacks, financial hardships, and personal rivalries, under a cloud of grief, to compete in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. But that achievement was only the beginning for a woman determined to reinvent herself and consistently raise her own standards for success.

In Sue Bird: The Inspiring Story of One of Basketball’s Greatest Point Guards, you'll learn the inspirational story of one of women's basketball's greatest point guards, Sue Bird. Sue Bird has been playing in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) since 2002. She is best known for playing with the Seattle Storm and the only WNBA player to ever win a championship in three different decades. She has won WNBA titles, World Championships, Olympic gold medals, and even a EuroLeague championship.

In Lisa Leslie: The Inspiring Story of One of Basketball’s Greatest Centers, you'll learn the inspirational story of one of basketball's legends, Lisa Leslie. Over the course of her twelve year career, Leslie won two WNBA Championships, two WNBA Finals MVP Awards, three WNBA MVP Awards and was selected to eight All-Star games. These awards, along with many others not mentioned, make her one of the greatest women’s basketball players of all time.

In Diana Taurasi: The Inspiring Story of One of Basketball’s Greatest Guards, you'll learn the inspirational story of one of basketball's greatest guards, Diana Taurasi. In 2004, Taurasi was drafted by the Phoenix Mercury, where she immediately made her mark as a rookie by winning the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) Rookie of the Year Award. Not only did she win that award, but over her career she has also won three WNBA championships, five Olympic gold medals, one WNBA Most Valuable Player Award, and two WNBA Finals MVP Award

The Cinderella Monologues Edition shares a collection of true stories from real-life Cinderellas to inspire, energize, encourage, and empower those who have had similar experiences. Most women have a version of a Cinderella tale to tell. Once these stories are told, the healing begins, along with the opportunity to help others.

One of the trailblazers of the modern female foreign correspondent, former Guardian reporter Hella Pick fled her native Austria as a Jewish child refugee in 1939. Over three decades she covered the volatile global scene, first in Africa, then in America and Eastern Europe. During 35 years with the Guardian, she reported on the Watergate Scandal in Washington, on Martin Luther King's march from Selma to Montgomery and on the Gdansk shipyard uprising in Poland.

Before Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball's color barrier in 1947, Negro Leagues Baseball was the only game in town for black athletes. And those leagues owed their existence and success to savvy businesspeople like Effa Manley, the black female co-owner of the Newark Eagles. Effa was the team's business manager, leading her team to win the Negro World Series in 1946. But this victory was bittersweet: Integration was on its way, and the demise of the Negro Leagues would soon follow.

Discover a remarkable journey of triumph in The Tornado's Daughter, a gripping nonfiction memoir. This poignant tale unravels the tumultuous family history of Charlotte Gwalt, interwoven with political assassinations, violence, betrayal, and the harrowing horrors of human trafficking. Against all odds, Charlotte rises above these adversities, defying the darkness that threatens to consume her. At its heart, this book is a testament to the unyielding resilience of the human spirit--a true story that showcases how even amid the darkest moments, one can forge a path to happiness and inner peace.

Embark on an inspiring journey through the life and groundbreaking work of Barbara McClintock, a pioneering geneticist whose discoveries revolutionized our understanding of genetics. This captivating book, tailored for young listeners aged 8-14, brings science to life with engaging stories, hands-on activities, and vivid illustrations.

She had a big job on Wall Street, a loving husband, and an infant son, and a confidence born of intelligence and beauty. But on 9/11, good fortune was no match for catastrophe. When a wall of flame at the World Trade Center burned more than 80 percent of her body, Lauren Manning began a 10-year journey of survival and rebirth that tested her almost beyond human endurance.

A FARMING LIFE shares the uplifting stories of women from six rural families as their resilience is tested by personal loss, illness, fractured relationships, natural disasters and the challenges that come with working in a traditionally male-dominated world. These women are all hands-on farmers - in fact, most are responsible for managing their own farms - and their defiance, tenacity and genuine humility shines through, as does their hope for the next generation of young women already lining up to follow in their footsteps.

Do we own it? Being a woman that is. Do we f--k! We live in fear of how we look, what we eat, how we age and what we do. Wow, it's 2022 and we're still churning out that same old shit. I've been told as you get older you care less. F--king great. I can't wait to be menopausal with skunk-like grey track lines in my hair, saggier tits and miserable as shit. I don't know about you, but I'd quite like to have that experience—the no-f--ks-experience that is—now, before that all happens. To have the confidence to believe in who I am.

The Will of Heaven is the powerful true story of how one woman overcame a debilitating addiction - rising from the courtrooms of her past to the grass plains of Kenya as a conservation research scientist. It was there she could finally fulfill her lifelong dream of working with wild elephants.