Singin’ and Swingin’ and Gettin’ Merry Like Christmas by Maya Angelou

This memoir reverberates with the exuberance Angelou brought to her young adult life as a performer and single mother, defying expectations and refusing to accept rejection. Her determination to see herself as both fallible and powerfully female is an enduring narrative gift.

Light Can Be Both Wave and Particle by Ellen Gilchrist

One of the first authors I read compulsively, with razor sharp wit and abundant charm, Gilchrist weaves scientific theory through the personal dilemmas of her characters. In her hands, physics is alive with metaphor and meaning, an unbiased phenomenon that affects everyone equally.”

Strength to Your Sword Arm by Brenda Ueland

Ueland was born in 1891; her world would be unrecognizable to us, and vice versa. In this collection of writing, she describes her life as an early feminist, devoted journalist and all-around firebrand. Her advice, 127 years after her birth, remains essential and fresh.

Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller

Fuller’s depiction of a Rhodesian childhood is astonishing for its total lack of recrimination towards the adults in her world, especially her unstoppable mother. This book is an act of bravery and a testament to one woman’s willingness to look back with an unswerving eye and say what she saw.

The Light of the World by Elizabeth Alexander

Alexander spins beauty out of her husband’s sudden death. Left to console their two young sons, she honors their Eritrean father, Ficre, by re-animating her husband’s life. This book is proof that even the most excruciating experience, told with heart and craft, can transform into grace that lingers in the imagination.