Wednesday, May 12, 2021

Non-fiction book review - Why She Wrote

 

Why She Wrote by Lauren Burke and Hannah Chapman

Most often profiles of famous or influential people focus on the facts of their achievements. That's certainly an element here. We have to understand what makes this person important in history. Once those facts are established, though, Burke and Chapman turn to their real focus - motivations. This is a compelling and unique approach. Most of the motivations are what we expect: paying bills, grasping for freedom, exorcising personal demons, secret keeping. A few are more challenging and stand out from the rest. These are women who fought to protect their investments and their property. Sometimes to make more money but mostly because it was theirs. If these were men their fights would be expected. In women at the time it was considered in poor taste. We can certainly admire women who did what was right for them with little regard for how it would be perceived. Each profile is accompanied by comic strip pages that illustrate the motivation. While not entirely necessary, they are well designed and support the message well. 

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

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