Chapter 43 - Strong Women

I started thinking about this post the other night at book club. We are a group of women of various ages and backgrounds who come together to read, talk about books, and enjoy each other's company. Some of us have friendships within the group outside of our monthly discussions but, to a person, we are a group of very strong women. Then I started to look at the close friendships I have and they too are mostly strong women. My daughters, daughter-in-law, and granddaughters are also part of this tribe. Certainly I have seen women who are not strong, (just as I have seen men who are not strong), ones who allow themselves to be victimized over and over again, ones who make bad choices in life, or even suffer addiction problems. While I have compassion for these women and stand at the ready to help, they are not people I want to necessarily be around.

Anyway at book club we shared really good books we have been reading (November has become our show and tell month) and planned out the first six months of our 2025 reading. In creating meeting events (we are using bookclubs.com this year) I noticed that three books of the six we've scheduled are about - you got it - strong women. Then I looked at the ones we recommended and 6 of the 12 were about strong women.

Although I could probably get a government grant to study this phenomenon, (just kidding), here are some books about strong women that I've enjoyed or which have been recommended.

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon - In 1789 Martha Ballard serves as the town midwife as well as a makeshift coroner. When a man is found frozen in the nearby Kennebec River, she is called upon to examine him and determine how he died. Ironic that the dead man is to be tried for the rape of the minister's wife, reported earlier by Mistress Ballard.

The Wedding People by Alison Espach - Phoebe has decided that, after divorce, her life just has no meaning. She goes to a beautiful Newport hotel with the plan to kill herself. Of course, as luck would have it, Phoebe runs into a bride and the wedding people who have taken over the hotel and who might just change Phoebe's mind.

How to Age Disgracefully by Clare Pooley - When Lydia takes a job running the local Senior Center, she thinks it will just entail afternoon tea and games of cards. The various characters she meets change her mind about what it means to be a senior. When they band together to save the Senior Center building, Lydia sees what theses seniors are really made of.

Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See - Tan Yunxian defies the Chinese belief that "an educated woman is a worthless woman". Raised by her grandparents, Yunxian's grandmother is one of only a handful of female doctors in China. She teaches Yunxian the ways of Chinese medicine to look, to listen, to touch, and to ask, something a man can never do with a female patient. As Yunxian grows she learns there are many women who need her help and how to leave a legacy of her own.

The Golden Doves by Martha Hall Kelly - Two women, one American, one French, are thrilled to be working in the French resistance during World War II. Known as the Golden Doves and finally captured by the Gestaspo, they are taken to Ravensbruck, along with their families where they lose the people most important to them. Given the chance to hunt down the doctor who destroyed their families, Josie and Arlette join forces to secure justice.

Do you have any books about strong women you'd recommend? Please share!