Marie Claire Book Club: International Women’s Day Edition

New York Times bestselling author Samantha Irby chronicles her 40th year with expert wit and whimsy as she ditches the bad dates and boozed-up nights of her 20s and 30s for a rural existence that she aptly describes as “Girls Gone Mild”. Hilarious proof that growing old and growing up is not the same thing, Irby begrudgingly embodies the trials and tribulations facing the “modern woman” in her writing.

Based on her experiences living in San Francisco during the ’80s, Solnit’s memoir details her awakening as a feminist and writer in a world that prefers women to be silent. A powerful voice struggling against the epidemic of violence against women and the exclusion of women in cultural arenas, Solnit shares her stories in the hope that future generations of women won’t suffer in the ways that she and the women she knew had to. This book is imbued with biting honesty and wisdom, so read it then give it to a woman you love.

In her book of essays, Kendall – an intersectional feminist from Chicago’s South Side – confronts head-on how mainstream feminism is so often based on increasing privilege for the few. Kendall writes with patience and empathy, but her message is firm: it’s time to step back and listen to those who are most marginalised not only by society, but by a movement that is meant to empower. The takeaway? Inequality exists not only between the sexes but within them, and as feminists we need to address that.

Clover Stroud is a journalist and mother of five, making her per- fectly qualified to pen a memoir about mother- hood, female sexuality and identity. Charting the course of one year, the first in her youngest child’s life, Stroud is transparent about her struggles and successes as a mother, proving once again that the more honest the writing, the more it will resonate with the reader.