10 Books About World-Changing Women Every Catholic Feminist Should Read

Part of our bookish series! 📚

Well-behaved women rarely make history—I think that’s the quote, yes? While our faith would prove that not-quite-true (Mary made quite a bit of history, methinks) there is something to the fact that many women who’ve left their mark on the world did so in a way that seemed socially out-of-the-box.

When I was a kid, my mom took my sister + I to Seneca Falls, New York to see the place where the first Women’s Rights Convention was had. I wish I could find the photo of her and I being sworn in by park rangers but alas, I can’t locate it in my too-full memory boxes. My entire life, I’ve been drawn to stories of women who used what they had to be a force for good in the world. There are few things as inspiring to me as curling up with a great biography of a kickers woman in history. These women aren’t Catholic, or necessarily spiritual at all! But they were brave, bold truth tellers who stood up for themselves in a world that doubted them. And I think we could all use some of that energy these days.

Here are 10 Books About World-Changing Women Every Catholic Feminist Should Read, According to Exactly One Catholic Feminist (ie., me).