27th of April is World Book Day. Celebrate it by reading one of these amazing books!
Lessons: My path to a meaningful life, Gisele Bundchen
An absolute bestseller and a must-read for every woman on a mission to become a better version of herself. In this book one of the most legendary supermodels in history, Gisele Bundchen, shares the lessons she has learned from her personal life and career. Some of them were tough, some very sweet, but they’ve all shaped the person she is today – a wonderful mum, environmental activist and a woman living the healthiest life possible.
From a bedroom she shared with her five sisters in a small town in Brazil, to her international success with over 1,400 magazine covers all over the world, this is definitely a journey to follow!
Eggshell Skull, Bri Lee
As a judge’s associate at the Queensland District Court, Bri Lee has seen a lot of injustice towards women who’ve experienced sexual abuse. But she never imagined that one day she would be the one standing in court as an accuser, sharing a story she had kept secret since childhood. She admits that all the brave complainants that she had met and heard, inspired her to speak out.
Eggshell Skull is a powerful story about some of the fighters and survivors who have found the strength to speak out – many won their cases but so many others were let down by the law and lost. It’s an honest and heartbreaking representation about the countless situations that many women face and the sad reality that more people need to acknowledge this type of abuse is widespread. Bri Lee hopes, through her book, to spark a shift in the way sexual abuse is handled in courts.
This will only hurt a little, Busy Phillips
We’re not sure why this happens but there’s definitely a pattern where the funniest Hollywood celebrities – the ones that always smile and make jokes on camera – are often the ones who have depression and are going through their own hell.
In her autobiography, Busy Phillips cuts through the idea of being a comedian and Instagram-darling and opens up to show the world who she really is – a girl whose been through a lot. She writes about the bullying and violent abuse she’s received from famous male actors and the incident where her name was removed from a script she wrote and sold by two guys she trusted. Her wry humour also covers stories on what it’s like to work in an industry that consistently makes women feel bad about their bodies.
This book is raw, honest and extremely empowering.
I am Malala, Malala Yousafzai
Malala read Stephen Hawking’s A brief history of time when she was 11 years old. By the time she was 12 she was reading Anna Karenina and Jane Austin novels while also writing her own blog for BBC. Her talent and determination haven’t gone unnoticed. But instead of winning awards and scholarships for that, Malala got shot in the head by a Taliban fighter while she was on a school bus. All because Malala was unlucky to be born in Pakistan where young girls still have to fight for their right to attend school and receive a proper education.
This book is worth reading because of the vivid drama in Malala’s life and the strong message about the untapped power of girls.
My thoughts exactly, Lily Allen
“So, this is me. Lily Allen. I am a woman. I am a mother. I was a wife. I drink. I have taken drugs. I have loved and been let down. I am a success and a failure. I am a songwriter. I am a singer. I am all these things and more.”
As a singer, Lily Allen used to make headlines for her wild parties, use of drugs and excess drinking. But do we really know what caused this behaviour?
This brutal, honest and very vulnerable book shares a story previously hidden from the public eye. Lily writes about her unconventional childhood, a traumatic stillbirth, the breakdown of her marriage and other heartbreaking moments in her life. But she doesn’t tell us these things so that we feel sorry for her but, rather, to empower her readers and show them that no matter how deeply they fall, they can always rise up again and, what can often feel like a dead-end can become a new road to success and happiness, if that’s the direction you choose.
Desert Flower: The Extraordinary Journey of a Desert Nomad, Waris Dirie
The sophisticated Waris Dirie is a famous model who has probably appeared on the cover of every single women’s magazine in the world. Not only does she break the barriers as a woman of a colour in an industry that is only at the beginning of its journey towards true diversity, but she’s also an inspiring example of a survivor.
Waris was born in Somalia, where in the 21st century girls still undergo genital mutilation for arranged marriages. This procedure is mostly performed without any anaesthesia, in unsterile conditions. Dirie didn’t escape this horrific procedure but managed to run away from her marriage. She found herself in London, where she had to overcome cultural differences, language barrier and legal problems (she didn’t even have a valid passport at that stage!) before becoming a model, known all over the world.
This books describes her journey with raw unfiltered details.
