The Feminist Lens: Moonrise: The Power of Women Leading from the Heart
Moonrise: The Power of Women Leading from the Heart by Nina Simons
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A review copy of this book has been on my desk since the end of December, and I feel terrible that I’m just getting around to reviewing it now, but with school and play-directing and house-hunting, I couldn’t find time to sleep let alone read. But that doesn’t mean I found this book difficult or boring. I actually really loved it and missed reading it while I was so busy.
From her bio on the back of the book: Nina Simons, the editor of the book, is the co-CEO and cofounder of Bioneers, a national nonprofit that identifies, gathers, and disseminates breakthrough solutions to environmental and social challenges. It makes sense, then, that so many of the essayists in this book were focused on leading through environmental agencies or were actively working toward environmental change in some way. It was partly because of this that I find myself giving the book a 4-star rating rather than a 5-star one. I am very aware of environmental issues, but when I think of women and leadership, I think of so much more than just that. And I believe that there are so many women out there doing so many wonderful things – I just wished for a more diverse set of voices.
The other reason behind my 4-star rating was that many of these essays read a lot like advertisements for whatever programs these particular women were leading at the time the essay was written. As great as it was to read about all of the wonderful things these women did with their leadership skills, I wanted to read more about the actual leadership, not the program they were leading. Personally, I think women are told by society that whatever their creation – their art, their program, their work, their children, or whatever other contribution to society – is more important and should be celebrated more than the work they put in or the process they use to get to that contribution. Thus, I wanted to hear more about the women themselves and their leadership processes rather than the fruits of their labor.
On the other hand, though, and much more importantly, it was inspiring and empowering to read about these women’s accomplishments. The fact that most of these women started with a gut feeling that they needed to fix a problem, make a connection, beautify a space, or make a difference in big ways and then reading about how they actually did it was absolutely uplifting. It is so important that, in our society where women are not always shown examples of leadership or empowered women role models that we actually get a whole book of examples right in front of us. I may think about teaching some of these essays to my students next year!
For anyone who picks this book up and wants to read just a few of the essays, may I suggest:
- “We Got Issues” by Rha Goddess (This was absolutely my FAVORITE essay of them all. “Because it is not up to America whether I live or die, nor is it up the so-called leadership of this nation whether I thrive or prosper. And the moment that I decide that my fate is governed by what America thinks of me, I give up my power, and my life becomes about the struggle for validation, recognition, and entitlement – on America’s terms” (41). SO EMPOWERING!)
- “How Art Can Heal Broken Places” by Lily Yeh
- “Embracing the Other: Cultural Diversity and Resilience” by Kate Kendell
- “Circles of Mutual Mentorship” by Nina Simons
- “V to the Tenth” by Eve Ensler
While all of the essays were phenomenal, I did love these five, and would highly recommend them – and the book – to all women.