Biography Girls

Women around the world have long dreamed big, even when they've been told their dreams didn't matter. They've spoken out, risen up and fought for what's right, even when they've been told to be quiet. Whether in science, the arts, sports or activism, women and girls throughout history have been determined to break barriers and change the status quo. They haven't let anyone get in their way and have helped us better understand our world and what's possible. Chelsea Clinton introduces listeners to a group of 13 incredible women who have shaped history all across the globe.

At nine years old, Eugenie Clark developed an unexpected passion for sharks after a visit to the Battery Park Aquarium in New York City. At the time, sharks were seen as mindless killing machines, but Eugenie knew better and set out to prove it. Despite many obstacles in her path, Eugenie was able to study the creatures she loved so much. From her many discoveries to the shark-related myths she dispelled, Eugenie made wide scientific contributions that led to her being nicknamed Shark Lady.

On a quiet Melbourne afternoon in the eerie early days of the pandemic, young parents Jordan and Gary Ablett finally learned why their beautiful baby boy, Levi, had not been hitting the milestones that most new parents celebrate and are reassured by. After months of concern and worry, the specialists' diagnosis gave them clarity, but with it came an overwhelming sorrow at the loss of the life they had imagined for their son, and for themselves as a family.

A girl name Sheila that grew up in Ivy City, Northeast Washington, DC, engaged in illegal drug activities and the street life. Throughout the years, Sheila fell in love and married her supplier and relocated to a rural area to raise their son, RJ.

In Bana's own words, and featuring short, affecting chapters by her mother, Fatemah, Dear World is not just a gripping account of a family endangered by war; it offers a uniquely intimate child's perspective on one of the biggest humanitarian crises in history. Bana has lost her best friend, her school, her home, and her homeland. But she has not lost her hope - for herself and for other children around the world who are victims and refugees of war and deserve better lives.

A raw and bold memoir about abuse and addiction, and the power of expression and community that helped Stephanie Kuehnert, the author of Ballads of Suburbia and regular Rookie contributor, survive and thrive. Told in varied narrative styles, including journal entries and pages torn from her actual diaries and zines, this is the memoir of Stephanie's life as a struggling outsider who survived substance and relationship abuse to become a strong young woman after years and years trapped in a cycle that sometimes seemed to have no escape.

The Girl in Your Wallet is a brave and honest memoir. An intimate, raw account of a damaged young woman whose seemingly wasted life is on a downward spiral, until she encounters God in a big way.

Sophie Passmann hat mit "Pick me Girls" nicht nur ihr persönlichstes Buch geschrieben, sondern auch eine kluge Auseinandersetzung mit dem männlichen Blick. Ihr Memoir zeichnet ein stellvertretendes Frauenleben nach und wirft die Frage auf: Welche Version von ihr selbst hätte Sophie Passmann sein können, wenn das Patriarchat nicht existieren würde? Warum wir alle "pick me girls" sind und welche Unmöglichkeiten Sophie Passmann und höchstwahrscheinlich auch jede andere Frau im Laufe ihres Lebens ertragen muss, das seziert Sophie Passmann so scharf und klug wie keine andere.

Tiffany Barnes is a young girl who grows up in a small town outside Salt Lake City, where behind closed doors, she lives in an abusive home. After her parents divorce, Tiffany is abused by her stepfather and a family friend. When she speaks up about what happened, she is not validated or supported. A bouncing period begins, and Tiffany moves multiple times, trying to find safety, but is unable to gain consistency. At age 15, she makes the decision to be emancipated, and this begins a new stage in her life where she's forced to make adult decisions in order to survive.

Maria Konner takes you on her journey from living a frustrated and bored straight-dude life to becoming a fabulous trans entertainer in San Francisco. She also begins to discover herself sexually after a Halloween costume feels better than she ever imagined. What starts as a lark, quickly becomes a lifestyle. Told in a frank and entertaining manner, Maria details her experiences at Diva's, the legendary trans bar. There, she enters into a world of alternative lifestyles, sexual experimentation, crossdressing, and hardcore kink as she tests the boundaries of her sexuality.

This Autistic Girl Went to Japan is the inspiring story of a young woman who moved halfway around the world in pursuit of happiness. With humor and remarkable candor, Bianca describes the challenges of applying for a visa during a time of terrifying uncertainty, slogging through endless red tape, and the loneliness that comes with being a stranger in a strange land. Oh, and how she wound up evicting a bat from her new apartment, attending a Pokémon GO event with a bunch of middle-aged women, and discovering the best thrift store in all of Tokyo.

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls (New Edition) features 100+ whimsical stories about women and girls who have done extraordinary things. Readers will marvel at the accomplishments of well-known women like Cleopatra, Amelia Earhart, Rosa Parks, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Malala Yousafzai, and they’ll discover the powerful stories of Colombian spy Policarpa Salavarrieta, Afghani rapper Sonita Alizadeh, Brazilian poet and baker Cora Coralina, Mexican doctor Matilde Montoya, and American surgeon Mary Edwards Walker.

In this very personal memoir and the most recent book in the Victory over Abuse series, author Marilyn Lundberg describes her own triumphant victory following excruciating pain and hardship.

Kwan Kew Lai met her first Punjabi woman doctor while lying in a hospital bed with a severe kidney infection at the age of fourteen. Watching the woman walk away down the hall, Kwan Kew was convinced she could, and would, carve out her own destiny. In The Girl Who Taught Herself to Fly, the author weaves in her family’s story of joy, sorrow, loss, love, and endless struggles with poverty and hunger. This poignant memoir, with universal and timeless themes, will leave you in awe.

In March of 2020, women worldwide were experiencing the same thing; however, they did not know how this would affect their mental health, family, friends, career, or business. In this book, you will find stories from 12 women across the world, who learned about their incredible strength and resilience. As you listen to each chapter, hopefully, you will see yourself in one of these women and know you have the power to overcome whatever pandemic you are going through.

Jools and Lynda Topp aka The Topp Twins tell this story in their own words, describing their adventurous lives through laugh-out-loud anecdotes and heartwarming tales. As well as their long careers as country music stars and comedians, with characters like Camp Mother & Camp Leader and Ken & Ken, the twins have always stood up for their political beliefs and have been embraced by New Zealanders from all walks of life.

Born to wealth that the Civil War ravaged, held captive by renegade Comanche, and rejected by family and friends, Mary Elizabeth (“Libby”) Haley ran away from home at the age of 14. Libby learned to navigate the dangerous and volatile Old West and made a name for herself as Squirrel Tooth Alice. Given her moniker because of a gap in her front teeth and her passion for raising ground squirrels as pets, Libby made the best of a difficult situation.

On her second birthday in 1967, Bernice McFadden died in a car crash near Detroit, only to be resuscitated after her mother pulled her from the flaming wreckage. Firstborn Girls traces her remarkable life from that moment up to the publication of her first novel, Sugar. Growing up in 1980s Brooklyn, Bernice finds solace in books, summer trips to Barbados, and boarding school to escape her alcoholic father. Discovering the works of Alice Walker and Toni Morrison, she finally sees herself and her loved ones reflected in their stories of “messy, beautiful, joyful Black people.”

Danielle has a safe, happy childhood growing up in West London, but her bright future fades as she turns her back on school for gang life and crime. Betrayed by the police after a brutal gang rape, she finds protection under the wing of organised criminals and falls in love with the local ‘top boy’. However, her allegiances bring terror to her doorstep when gun-toting rivals target her flat – and the authorities answer by taking away her baby. Heartbroken, Danielle spirals deeper into gang life and becomes a key player in a sprawling county lines operation.

Renée shares a memoir with a purpose. Her journey from being counted out and overlooked in childhood through her twenties. From being told, "You are not college material" to earning a Master's degree in Education with honors. From that kid, the last one left when picking teams in gym class to high school bowling coach! Passing through addiction and many other valleys along the road. As a teacher, always remembering how it felt and making sure to always take the opportunity to right those wrongs.