This book is so impactful for how little it is; it’s 80-ish pages long (per Amazon, what I wrote down was that is was 63 pages, so maybe depends on the version, I admittedly can’t really read the note I jotted down super well so…) I don’t often really ponder feminism. I’m very privileged to have never really felt discriminated against, based on my gender. The company I work for full-time is a very female-centric one so.. our VP is a woman, our top educator is a woman, our social media person is a woman.. I’ve never felt like I couldn’t do something, based on my gender. Again, I am very lucky and very privileged. And that is why “Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions” was so important for me to read.

Adichie promotes the idea, “Be a full person.” You are more than a mother, a sister, a wife, you are all of those things, but you are also an innovator, a creator, a healer. Be a full person.

Another bit from the book I loved was the quote, “Feminism and femininity are not mutually exclusive.” YES!  I grew up very tomboy, oversized shirts, baggy pants, no make up, and it was great. Currently I’m happily in skirts or dresses 5 or 6 days a week, with makeup on as often, and you know what, it’s great too. I think there is the idea if you’re a feminist, you shouldn’t be glam, or gorgeous, or girly. And you know what? Fuck that. BE A FULL PERSON.

One last quote from the book – “Everybody will have an opinion about what you should do, but what matters is what you want for yourself, and not what others want you to want.”  You want to be a stay at home mom who bakes cookies from scratch? DO IT!  You want to be a CEO who wears high heels bigger than the average cock? DO IT.  You want to do both at different points in your life? DO IT.

BE A FULL PERSON.

Again, I grabbed any book that looked tiny, pretty blind beyond length, but I am so thrilled that this one ended up in my hands. I know I didn’t get into many details, and this not much of a review, because I think you should experience the book itself. The entire thing is quotable and relate-able and teachable and… I knocked it out, while writing down some fantastic passages, in… maybe 30 minutes?

Read books that don’t apply to you, maybe you’ll find they do.  Read books about subjects that haven’t touched your life, and let them.