Elizabeth Gilbert chooses books about women overcoming difficulty
The author of the global hit “Eat, Pray, Love” picks books about women overcoming difficulty. Her memoir, “All the Way to the River”, explores her relationship with a friend and lover who died in 2018.
The Summer Book
Tove Jansson, 1972
In this slim, magical novel, a wild young girl and her equally wild grandmother spend the summer on a remote Finnish island, using adventure and creativity to heal from loss. Never has childhood girl power been more eloquently expressed. I call this my favourite book nobody has ever read.
The Awakened Woman
Dr Tererai Trent, 2017
There is no easy pathway from rural African poverty, illiteracy and early marriage to a doctoral degree in America – but in this memoir, Trent shows how she created that path for herself, with relentless drive and the guidance of her ancestors. This is the heroic journey of a woman I admire more than anyone else I’ve met.
Matrix
Lauren Groff, 2021
Plenty of women in history have been sent to convents as punishment, but in Groff’s brilliant, muscular novel, the 12th century mystical poet Marie de France takes that banishment and turns it into might, becoming a leader who transforms her convent into a world of creativity, prosperity and autonomy for all women.
How to Say Babylon
Safiya Sinclair, 2023
Raised in the crushing patriarchy of contemporary Jamaica, Sinclair fought back against the limitations of her father and Rastafarian culture to become a magnificent poet, traveller and author. She wrote her way out of poverty and oppression, and the result, this gorgeous memoir, is pure fire.
Harley Loco
Rayya Elias, 2013
My new book tells the story of my friendship and love with Rayya Elias, but in this memoir, she tells her own harrowing story of immigration, alienation, drug addiction, music and recovery. Raw and unflinching, her voice continues to shine long after her death.
Titles in print are available from The Week Bookshop