12 Must-Read Books for Women's History Month

Rupi Kaur took the world by storm when she self-published her first book of poetry, Milk and Honey, as a 21-year old university student when her creative writing professor told her there was no market for poetry.

Kaur was born in Punjab, India, and emigrated to Canada with her family when she was young. She has now written several other titles: The Sun and Her Flowers, Homebody, and Healing Through Words: A Book of Carefully Curated Writing Exercises.

Kate Baer is an American writer and three-time New York Times best-selling author of several titles including What Kind of Woman, I Hope This Finds You Well, and And Yet. Her writing and poetry explore a wide range of topics such as loss, love, and motherhood. What Kind of Woman, has been described as an “affirmation of a woman’s experience and perspective” by Vogue.

You may have come across Morgan Harper Nichols' deeply moving and colorful illustrations and honest, hopeful words on Instagram. Musician, songwriter, mixed-media artist, writer, and autistic disciplinary artist — Nichols’ words and illustrations have captivated many.

Her first published work Storyteller: 100 Poem Letters Began with Creating Poems from People’s Stories (Identities Kept Anonymous), but a more recent work, All Along You Were Blooming, is a celebration of hope and a love letter in poetry form, perfect for celebrating Women's History Month.

The Year of Magical Thinking is a powerful, beautiful, and moving memoir about grief in the personal life of the iconic late Joan Didion, chronicling the year after her husband suddenly died and dealing with her daughter’s serious life-altering illness.

The author chronicles the unbelievable journey of how historically medicine has failed women and how misogyny has impacted western medicine and medical practices. Elinor Cleghorn, PhD, is a writer and researcher of women’s health histories and is known for being a feminist cultural historian. She works and lives in Sussex, England.

The late Nora Ephron is the infamous name and screenwriter behind many of your favorite rom-coms, including movies You’ve got Mail, When Harry Met Sally, and Sleepless in Seattle, wrote a funny, moving, and truthful book about life as an older woman. I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts On Being a Woman, is a poignant read and one that is incredibly relatable to so many women.

A New York Times best-seller about female strength in a man’s world, in Circe, Madeline Miller reimagines the story of the goddess and banished witch daughter of Helios, who has to choose between the worlds of the gods and the mortals. An excellent read for those who love the themes of female empowerment and who enjoy Greek mythology.

Another New York Times best-seller, this novel explores themes of identity, family drama, race, roots, and community. The story centers on twin sisters who ultimately choose to live their adult lives in two very different worlds, one black and one white. Brit Bennett is an American author based in Los Angeles and The Vanishing Half is her second novel.

Maragaret Atwood is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, and environmental activist. Her novel The Handmaid's Tale, published in 1985, is a futuristic dystopian story that covers themes like politics and women’s bodies being controlled by a totalitarian government. Hulu ordered a series based off of the novel in 2017, and there are now five seasons of the show.

A New York Times best-seller and Reese Witherspoon’s Book Pick, The Last Story of Mina Lee is about secrets in the lives of an immigrant mother and her daughter. Though the events of the book are fictional, author Nancy Jooyoun Kim said there were some similarities between the fictional mother and daughter and her relationship with her own mother, who is a single immigrant mother, just like in her story. Kim is a writer and editor born and raised in Los Angeles who now works in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Jessamine Chan is an American novelist living in Chicago with her family. Her best-selling dystopian novel, The School for Good Mothers, deals with topics of autonomy and technology, and imagines a world where strangers and the state decides its own measurements of what a “good mother” is.

A New York Times best-seller, and USA Today best-seller, The Only Woman in the Room is a book based on the true story of glamour icon and scientist Hedy Lamarr. The book celebrates women in science that history may have overlooked.

Author Marie Benedict is a lawyer and author who writes about hidden historical stories of women. She was born and raised in Pennsylvania, where she currently lives.