Women Social Networks Provide Inspiration
While visiting your favorite women social networks, you can often find inspiration as well as information. These memoirs by inspirational women provide both.
When we visit our favoritewomen's social networks, we often discover sources of information and inspiration. Sometimes those inspirational women are users just like you, whose experiences and stories teach us something new and prompt us to look at the world in a different way. Other times, intensely personal and eloquently written memoirs like the ones mentioned demonstrate that even the darkest of experiences can also enlighten and inspire: 1. The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls: Jeanette Walls begins her riveting story with a compelling description of the unforgettable moment she looked out her taxi window to find herself gazing at her mother digging through a New York City dumpster. Walls candidly describes a heartbreaking childhood raised by people who believe “being homeless is an adventure,” but she also refuses to be destroyed or define solely by that experience. Walls financed her way through Barnard and as a gossip columnist for MSNBC eventually became part of New York’s media elite. For years, she hid the details of her past, ashamed and uncertain of how people would react. When she revealed her tumultuous upbringing, however, she received critical acclaim for her writing and admiration for her strength and honesty. Jeanette Walls’s The Glass Castle is a testament not only of our ability to excel even in the face of dire circumstances, but also how liberating sharing your truth can be. 2. Manic: A Memoir by Terri Cheney: Terri Cheney’s unflinching account of how her bipolar disorder shaped her life may not be an easy read, but it is well worth taking this intense journey. Cheney perfectly captures the essence of a manic episode, and provides insight into a mental illness that many struggle to understand. Once a successful entertainment lawyer who concealed her condition during her 16-year career, Cheney decided to stop practicing law and focus on writing about her manic depression and encouraging others struggling with mental illness to share their stories, as well. She founded a weekly community support group at UCLA’s Neuropsychiatric Institute, and also serves on the Community Advisory Board of the UCLA Mood Disorders Research Program. Like Walls, Cheney dreaded the fall-out of divulging her condition, but time and again has found an abundance of support and understanding. Her ordeal is further evidence that we can find opportunity in the midst of adversity and sharing our stories is an incredibly powerful and beneficial experience with the potential to build and strengthen communities. 3. If I Am Missing or Dead: A Sister's Story of Love, Murder, and Liberation by Janine Latus: The story of how Janine Latus’s youngest sister Amy taped a note inside her desk drawer explaining she was romantically involved with a man she feared is heart-wrenching. Amy hoped that writing it all down would help assure her safety, but she also realized that, “If I am missing or dead this obviously has not protected me.” At the same time, Latus was successfully disentangling herself from a marriage that looked perfect, but was truly a nightmare. On July 4, 2002 Amy went missing and eventually would be found murdered by her boyfriend. This horrific culmination of an abusive relationship led Latus to examine how two bright, capable women found themselves in physically and emotionally abusive relationships. By bravely offering up the brutal truth of her own experience, Latus helps identify root causes of domestic violence and shows we all have the power to heal. Through these pages and her domestic violence advocacy efforts, she truly saves lives as women recognize themselves or loved ones within her words, and realize they are not nearly as alone or trapped as they may seem. We will all face hardship of varying degrees in our lives. When inspirational women contribute their voices to women social networks and courageously share their most personal stories, we can draw worthwhile lessons from difficult times and illuminate a path toward progress we might not otherwise have seen. These women have revealed their world to others and in doing so actively participate in the betterment of our world.
