5 Female Authors Who Just Get It

This may be a big assumption, but unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard of the hit TV series Gilmore Girls. This show already had a huge fan base that practically urged the creators to continue the series which finally happened in 2016, nine years after the last episode aired. Now there’s even gossip about another season in 2021.

Did you know that Amy Sherman-Palladino once pitched the idea of a Gilmore Girls movie? She was turned down by the producers. Their assumption was that the film wouldn’t have an audience because young women don’t go to the movie theater. Hmm, I wonder if young women would go to the movie theater if relatable content was created for them? Is the problem really women? (Psst… it’s not.)

So I’ve dedicated this blog to sharing my favorite female writers because when the going gets tough, Danielle makes a list. There were many to choose from but I narrowed it down to five! If you’re looking for your next read, then I would highly recommend these ones. If you can get the audiobook, even better because these writers are also great speakers!

1.     Brené Brown

A psychological researcher in the areas of shame and vulnerability, Brené sheds light in all of her books on the sources of pain in our lives and how we can effectively approach those tender emotions with ourselves and with each other. I am a super fan and have read The Power of Vulnerability, Daring Greatly, Braving the Wilderness, and Dare to Lead, but my absolute favorite was Rising Strong. All of her books help us explore and understand the hard parts of our collective human experience, but Rising Strong gave concrete tools to address them which I will use for the rest of my life. 

2.     Roxane Gay

Author of two of my favorite titles, Hunger and Bad Feminist, Roxane Gay is unapologetically herself as a writer and reading about her struggles helped me through my own. Roxane, having lived experience as a black, queer woman who has struggled with an eating disorder, has overcome about as much adversity as one person could ever fathom in a lifetime. What’s amazing is this hasn’t brought her down, but lifted her into creating masterpieces that help us be more aware of the social injustices of our culture by sharing some incredibly vulnerable parts of her life.

3.     Elizabeth Gilbert

Elizabeth Gilbert has such a knack for forming ideas in a poetic, articulate, and relatable way. Of course, she is famous for Eat, Pray, Love, which I identified with a lot after my adventures in Bali and India. The book that really got me on the Liz Gilbert train was Big Magic, which is about the ins and outs of creativity. It did wonders for my own creative process and really helped me digest my own relationship with writing. It’s a must-read for any artistic types to have in their stack.

4.     Michelle Obama

Gadzooks, where do I even begin with this amazing woman? She’s just so inspiring. Y’all, she graduated from Princeton and was a full-time lawyer before she even met Barack. She also has a fascinating perspective on the campaign trail and 8 years in the White House. Her book, Becoming, is the story of how she grew into and still flourishes as an intelligent, nurturing, and dedicated leader for so many of us. If you want a down-to-earth, well-written autobiography, look no further.

5.     Glennon Doyle

The newest of the female authors who I’m crazy about! Glennon Doyle’s latest book Untamed has taken the world by storm. It’s all about personal and female empowerment. This author realized she was unhappy in her marriage and in love with another woman at 40 years old, and took the plunge into her own happiness rather than letting the world dictate her choices. She is so brave and vulnerable at every point in this page-turner. You won’t be able to put it down!

It was REALLY hard to narrow down, so here are my honorable mentions:

Tara Westover - Educated

Malala Yousafzai - I Am Malala

Gabrielle Bernstein - Spirit Junkie

Choosing female artists to support can be tough because they are not as readily available as their male counterparts. Even in my personal life, I remember a day when my husband asked why I always read female authors. I was taken aback because I didn’t realize I was only reading books written by females. I was just choosing titles and stories I was drawn to in the bookstore. But he was right. I do choose female authors, and it’s probably because I find their stories the most relatable.

I hope this list of authors is a starting point or an expansion into your repertoire of female writers. Their stories are fascinating, insightful, and empowering. This is not to say that male authors have no importance, but that we should raise our female authors to have the same importance. The best way to do this is to share what you’re reading with your friends and family. Even better if you choose to share on social media and tag your favorite authors! Our favorite writers rely on our support, so let’s do our part in raising them up so we can keep consuming top-notch content!

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