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Why we're making more time for women's stories this Book Week
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Dear ,

I have a confession to make.


My favourite book has remained the same for over twenty years.


Mum handed me a copy of Jung Chang’s Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China when I was eleven and said, ‘I just finished reading this, I think you’ll like it’. 


Goodness, was she right.


Chang’s groundbreaking biography documents three generations of stories - her grandmother’s, mother’s and her own - as her family navigates a century of politics, culture and change.


I instantly loved it. It lived in my bag long after I finished it, and I often revisited whole chapters with the enthusiasm of a first-time reader.


Had someone asked me then what I loved about it, I wouldn’t have done it justice. But now, it’s obvious what makes this book special.


Chang’s story winds across a complicated history, from the end of China's dynastic era throughout a period marked by war and political change - solely from the perspective of the women in her family.


I read Wild Swans when I was a kid - growing up far away from home and its various conflicts and struggles. It wasn’t easy, but somehow - reading women’s stories of war, revolution and survival - grounded me.


See, without women’s perspectives, we only get half the story.


It’s a simple realisation, but it struck me again last week, when Serena Williams announced her retirement from professional tennis. 


If you haven’t read it yet, I recommend it. 


Williams pens a heartfelt farewell to the sport she’s conquered, while telling us the truth - she’s moving on from tennis to expand her family and try her hand at business - but she hates having to make this choice.


It stands in stark contrast to retirement announcements from Ash Barty and Caroline Wozniacki. Both shocked the world with their news, but described feelings of relief and happiness.


It’s a big moment. Watching a woman at the pinnacle of her career, taking a step in a new direction, while acknowledging that having to make the choice at all is unfair.


With Book Week around the corner, I’m making time to read more women’s stories, many of which come from within our own community.


Our fierce Deputy Managing Director, Jamila Rizvi shares her perspective on life in a ‘new’ body, as she navigates living with chronic illness and disability.


Community leader Be Ha details the treacherous journey from her home to Australia, after making the difficult choice to flee Vietnam in the midst of war. Her answer to what makes her resilient is simple and surprising.


Understanding the power of storytelling and the healing potential of truth-telling from a young age, Madi Howarth, a proud Wonnarua and Yuin woman, shares her great-grandmother’s account of being forcibly removed from her family in the Stolen Generation.


‘Truth-telling is healing. More than that - being heard and understood is healing,’ Madi reminds us.


Perhaps that’s why I loved Wild Swans so much. It felt like Chang was waving at me from behind those lines of text and saying ‘I see you… I understand you’.


There’s no shortage of incredible stories written by women, about women and for women. I’ve bookmarked our podcast Anonymous Was A Woman and started working my way through an impressive list of literary work.


Now I just need to find the time to do them all justice.


Happy reading,


Bojana Kos

Senior Content Producer, Future Women

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