Book Talk: We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Tuesday evening while we were visiting my parents, my sister-in-law handed me Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's We Should All Be Feminists, a 2014 book based on her TED Talk. I had enjoyed Adichie's 2009 TED Talk, The Danger of a Single Story, so I expected this little book to be filled with the same humor and honesty as that TED Talk. I was not disappointed. Adichie shares snippets of her life in Nigeria that illustrate the disconnect between the cultural gender roles and expectations and the growing call for gender equality. Her stories sound like stories from another century, yet also seem hauntingly familiar. Adichie's graciousness toward those who don't understand her feminism and her ability to speak of the benefits to both men and women of setting aside the expectations that ignore ability and interest when pressuring them into specific roles help soothe the volatility of a difficult and often contentious topic. Whether you consider yourself a feminist or are concerned about the dangers of the push to challenge the societal norms that you are comfortable with, this is an interesting book and an excellent conversation-starter.