The political, cultural, religious, and legal battles of the last decade have harmed American women. This is how we heal.
The status of women in the United States is eroding. From teen girls hearing "Your body, my choice" in school hallways to women being denied life-saving abortion care, the signs of growing inequality and hostility are everywhere as a political movement steeped in misogyny rolls back decades of progress.
Long before the fall of Roe v. Wade, journalist Bekah Stolhandske McNeel was reporting on the effects of restrictive health care laws on ordinary Texans. Their stories reshaped how she understood not only abortion rights but also women's legal, political, religious, and cultural status. As a reporter, she has a front-row seat to the battles that are changing what it means to be a woman in her own country. As mother to a daughter, she's looking for hope that America hasn't given up on its girls. And she's found it.
Now, since Donald Trump's second election, McNeel is on a relentless quest to find the people who are continuing the fight to make a better world in the areas of society that impact young women's lives the most: health care, politics, religion, and popular culture. Along the way, she introduces us to women whose lives illuminate what's at stake: the lead plaintiff challenging Texas's abortion ban, a daughter whose relationship with her father unraveled under the weight of online political radicalization, a Black New Testament scholar challenging Christian communities to confront patriarchy from within, and more. By shining a spotlight on the stories, progress, and leadership McNeel has discovered, this book gives us hope in a dark time--for ourselves, for our daughters and other young women we love, and for everyone who looks forward to a day when this country will be safe, hospitable, and empowering to every woman--and to us all.
