Huddle
How Women Unlock Their Collective Power
-
- £14.99
-
- £14.99
Publisher Description
Wall Street Journal Bestseller
CNN news anchor Brooke Baldwin explores the phenomenon of “huddling,” when women lean on one another—in politics, Hollywood, activism, the arts, sports, and everyday friendships—to provide each other support, empowerment, inspiration, and the strength to solve problems or enact meaningful change. Whether they are facing adversity (like workplace inequity or a global pandemic) or organizing to make the world a better place, women are a highly potent resource for one another.
Through a mix of journalism and personal narrative, Baldwin takes readers beyond the big headline-making huddles from recent years (such as the Women’s March, #MeToo, Times Up, and the record number of women running for public office) and embeds herself in groups of women of all ages, races, religions and socio-economic backgrounds who are banding together in America. HUDDLE explores several stories including:
The benefits of all-girls learning environments, such as Karlie Kloss’s Kode with Klossy and Reese Witherspoon’s Filmmaker Lab for Girls in which young women are given the freedom to make mistakes, and find their confidence.The tactics employed by huddles of women who work in male-dominated industries including a group of US veterans/Democratic Congresswomen, a huddle of African-American judges in Harris County, Texas, and an all-female writers room in Hollywood.The wisdom of huddling from trusted pioneers such as Gloria Steinem, Billie Jean King, and Madeleine Albright as well as contemporary trailblazers like Stacey Abrams and Ava DuVernay. How professionals such as Chef Dominique Crenn and sports agent Lindsay Colas use their success to amplify other women in their fields. The ways huddles of women are dedicated to making seismic change, including a look at Indigenous women saving the planet, the women who founded Black Lives Matter, the mothers fighting for sensible gun laws, America’s favorite female athletes (Megan Rapinoe, Hilary Knight, and Sue Bird to name a few) agitating for equal pay, and female teachers rallying to improve their working conditions.The bond between women who practice self-care and trauma healing together, including the women who courageously survived sexual abuse, and the women who heal together in The Class and GirlTrek.The ways women are becoming more intentional about the life-saving power of friendship, including the bonds between military wives, new moms, and nurses getting through the time of Covid.
Throughout her examination of this fascinating huddle phenomenon, Baldwin learns about the periods of huddle ‘droughts” in America, as well as the ways that Black women have been huddling for centuries. She also uncovers how huddling can be the “secret sauce” that makes many things possible for women: success in the workplace, effective grassroots change, confidence in girlhood, and a better physical and mental health profile in adulthood. Along the way, Baldwin takes readers through her own personal journey of growing up in the South and climbing the ladder of a male-dominated industry. Like so many women in her field, she encountered many sharp elbows on her career path, but became an early believer in adding more seats to the table and huddling with other women for strength and solidarity. In the process of writing HUDDLE, Baldwin learns that this seemingly new phenomenon is actually something women have been doing for generations—a quiet, collective power she learns to unlock in her transformation from journalist to champion for women.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Forget leaning in. Veteran journalist Brooke Baldwin wants women to lean on each other. After years covering everything from international wars to the Donald Trump presidency, the former CNN news anchor has learned that women are each other’s most powerful asset in a world that can often be sexist and misogynistic, especially in the workplace. With inspiring prose, Baldwin makes a great case for women of all walks of life to empower each other, especially when times are distressing and obstacles seem insurmountable. We particularly loved the interviews with luminaries like Reese Witherspoon and Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad and the touching story about the bond between Oprah and Gayle King. (Baldwin calls their relationship “a master class in female friendship.”) Huddle will re-instill your faith in the beauty—and importance—of women’s solidarity and sisterhood.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
CNN news anchor Baldwin debuts with a remarkable take on the power women can possess when they join forces. While women have made great strides for equality, she notes, there's still much work to be done. To counter a scarcity mentality that has historically pitted women against each other, Baldwin suggests that women are, in fact, each other's most valuable allies. She covers such significant moments as 1997's Million Woman March and the 2017 Women's March to show the power women can collectively wield, and highlights successful organizations such as AT&T's Hello Sunshine Filmmaker Lab for girls. As for "finding your own huddle," Baldwin encourages readers to get active in a movement they feel passionate about. Along the way, Baldwin gives ample ink to her own and others' stories, notably the ways sports agent Lindsay Colas empowers her clients, and how TV producer Liz Tigelaar assembled a writing team comprising nearly all women for the adaptation of Little Fires Everywhere. Part rallying cry, part treatise, Baldwin's thoughtful survey is sure to motivate.