Women's Power Part II

Welcome back to our Women Power series, where I talk about media that celebrates the many facets of women. We are not just one thing. Many moments make us into the women we are today. We will start our series with the following: Women Are Survivors.

Women are not frail beings. We have resilience and the power to reclaim our agency when faced with trauma. The following media features women who fight and claw their way out of struggles and adversity. They refuse to be victims of their circumstances and are prime examples that women are stronger than we give ourselves credit for. 

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

Leni’s childhood is in a constant state of upheaval. Her father, Ernt, hasn’t been the same after coming home from the Vietnam War. His erratic behavior and his inability to hold down a job have the family moving from place to place, not staying long enough to call a city home. One day, Ernt reveals he has lost another job, but found a great opportunity: the wilderness of Alaska. He sees it as an opportunity to be his own man, living off the land, and not having to report to anyone. Leni is forced to follow her father on his new far-fetched adventure. She wonders whether the move will make their family better, or will isolation intensify the darkness they already had.

Why Read: It sheds light not only on how domestic violence was handled with the characters of Leni and Cora during the early 1970s, but also how terrifying PTSD can be, especially during that time frame since there was no diagnosis for it then. It is a real eye-opener that the changes in laws to protect women and veterans are fairly new, and I hope that we learn from history to never fall back to the awfulness of that period again. 

Wolf Children

Hana marries a wolf man. They were happy together and had two children. However, when her husband suddenly dies, Hana has to raise the children on her own. 

Why Watch: Being a single mom is extremely hard, trying to make sure you and your children survive on your own, especially when there is no help around. However, Hana has the unique hardship of raising wolf children. In one scene, her child got sick. When she gets to the urgent care, she sees that the place is also across from a veterinary office. She looks between the two because she doesn’t know which one will help her child the best. She knows nothing about raising wolf children, but she never lets it stop her from being the best mother she possibly can. 

How To Sell A Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

Louise is a single mom and lives with her daughter, Poppy, out west. Finding out that her parents died in a car crash, Louise leaves Poppy with her ex and flies out east to deal with her family estate. When Louise decides to clean out her parents’ house, she notices weird things: the vent is ripped out, and the attic entrance is boarded up haphazardly. Her dad left his cane behind, and her mom left her purse behind, even though they never would leave the house without them. There are her mother’s dolls everywhere throughout the house. Louise tries to ignore them, but she feels like they are constantly watching her. It doesn’t help that they move from places that she has previously set them. Plus, the TV keeps coming on by itself. Louise begins to wonder if these are all coincidences, or if there is something more sinister roaming around the house. 

Why Read:  It teaches that attaching emotions to objects is not necessarily a good thing, and it can give the object more control over us than we like. Louise’s mother’s emotions gave power to the dolls, which constantly targeted her children. The book also talks about not letting the troubles of our family’s past dictate our future. Louise saw that her mother’s trauma was passed down to her, and she passed it on to her daughter, Poppy. Louise realizes that she has the power to break the generational trauma so that it isn’t passed down to future generations. 

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

Addie LaRue is a peasant girl in a small village in France. She doesn’t want to marry and lose her freedom, so she flees the village. She makes a desperate plea to any god that is listening to her to set her free. Strangely enough, a god answers her wish in exchange for her soul when she is ready to die. With her wish granted, Addie is overjoyed, but with wishes come unexpected consequences. 

Why Read: All Addie wanted to do was escape the rules of society. Instead, a higher power decided to strip her of everything. In a sense, it is an allegory of what is going on with society right now. People are losing their agency left and right in the U.S.: women losing the rights over their own bodies, immigrants being deported, a ban on books and certain subjects being taught in school, and so much more. However, I like that Addie doesn’t live a small life because of her circumstances. She knows that the god is trying to break her spirit, but she continues to live on, enjoying one moment after another to spite him. 

Leave My Body by Florence and the Machine 

Why Listen: As humans, we have a tendency to let the past hold us back. We carry regret and baggage that can sometimes be all-consuming. However, this song talks about breaking free of the things that keep us hostage and instead living moment to moment. 

That’s it for now. Thanks for joining me as I celebrate these wonderful women. They are the body of empowerment in the face of so much heartache and disaster. They illustrate that it is possible to rise above your circumstances and make it to the other side. Join me next time as we continue our exploration of women with Part 3: Women Are Allowed to Be Messy.