Twenty autobiographies that inspired influential women to dream big

Glamour "reached out to 20 women who inspire us—CEOs, authors, journalists, founders, influencers, and more—to ask them which women’s autobiographies have challenged them, made them dream bigger, or helped them feel more confident to carve their own paths."

Diana Fersko's pick:

Black White and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self, by Rebecca Walker

As a teen I read a lot of feminist books. One that stuck with me was Rebecca Walker’s Black White and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self. I was always interested in reading about the particular experiences of women, especially women who didn’t fit into the narrow confines of society in one way or another. Walker’s book was about exactly that. She couldn’t fully be herself in most situations; there was always a part left out.

As a Jewish girl in a predominantly Christian culture, I could relate to her experience in my own way. I was always shifting my identity, downplaying and even hiding my Jewishness…. I remember, she didn’t wrap it all up in a neat bow at the end. She acknowledged that she was still evolving, still becoming who she was meant to be. I found that inspirational.
--Rabbi Diana Fersko, senior rabbi of the Village Temple in Manhattan and author of We Need to Talk About Antisemitism

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue