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In Praise of Difficult Women

Life Lessons from 29 Heroines Who Dared to Break the Rules

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In Praise of Difficult Women

By: Karen Karbo, Cheryl Strayed - foreword
Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
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About this listen

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, In Praise of Difficult Women is an ode to the bold and charismatic women of modern history. Best-selling author Karen Karbo 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.

©2018 Karen Karbo (P)2018 Blackstone Publishing Gender Studies Personal Development Personal Success Social Sciences Women Witty Self Love Self Development Women Memoirs
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I enjoyed listening to this book. Although quite American in flavour , most of the woman portrayed are well known globally and it was an interesting tale

In Praise of Difficult Woman

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A fascinating read on 29 strong women who dared to be different. There are some truly interesting stories in here - Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Gloria Steinem, Amelia Earhart, Janis Joplin, Hillary Clinton, Frida Kahlo, Helen Gurley Brown, Jane Goodall and Elizabeth Taylor. Some I thought were an odd choice amongst so many greats (Edie Sedgwick, Amy Poehler). I'd like to know why particular women made it to her list.

My favourite is Ruth Bader Ginsburg who attended university for herself and her husband (while he recovered from cancer) whilst also raising their young children and then went on to be a Supreme Court Judge (after suffering much sexism to get there). Others include: Elizabeth Taylor (did you know she had a condition that gave her double eyelashes?), Frida Kahlo survived polio then was broken almost beyond repair in a bus accident as a child, Shondra Rhimes who continues to smash industry records (not just as a woman but as a black woman) with her primetime tv hits and had the longest running medical drama (ER) and Eva Peron who inspired a nation and lead the country better than her husband (who may have inadvertently killed her and his first wife by carrying the HPV virus this giving her cervical cancer).

Overall, a wonderful, inspiring book that made me proud of these women who didn't stick to society's norms, who pushed through boundaries and stood their ground.

An inspiring read of strong women

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