A Strange Stirring: The Feminine Mystique and American Women at the Dawn of the 1960s by Stephanie Cootz

Well, I have taken a several month break from my blog and several people have questioned if I had given it up entirely. Truth be told, I have been somewhat lazy and very busy. However, this weekend I had a wonderful, multiple-book weekend which was food for this introvert's soul. One of the books that made up my weekend was this wonderful, englightinng and somewhat disturbing non-fiction work. With this book, Cootz combined a brief history lesson of the challenges women experienced in the decades after World War II and before the mainstream women's liberation movement of the 70's with a review of a cutting edge book written in 1963 by Betty Friedien. Cootz confirms and dispels some of the common thoughts about the groundbreaking book The Feminine Mystique. I read parts of this book while in undergrad and agree with reviews it is somewhat dated and repetitive by today's standards. However for that time, it was very groundbreaking and gave a name to the "the nameless problem" experienced by many middle class women. Having had the fortune to be born into a family where my career and educational opportunities were strongly encouraged, it was an honest look at how we career women of the 21st century only have our opportunities due to the legacy and courage of these women who dared to speak out. Since reading this book, I will definitely talk more to the matriarchs of my family about their feelings and experiences during this time. From this book, I was given the gift of looking into the past to appreciate the lives of women who have went before me. I recommend this to any woman, it truly speaks to the struggles of women both then and now.