Reflecting on a life lived triumphantly in the margins, Good Woman: A Reckoning by Savala Nolan (Don't Let It Get You Down) revels in the author's raw, unfiltered femininity and offers a compelling vision of womanhood unhindered by the "herd think" of cultural expectations. The author, now in her "thunderous middle years," spent her earlier decades flattening herself into the "good woman" mold, only to realize that it did not deliver on its advertised benefits. What to be, then, if not a good woman? Over the course of 12 electrifying essays that lean into history, popular culture, spirituality and domesticity, Nolan demonstrates what it means to trust wholly in one's body, to honor one's complexities and to thrive "in a world that hates women." It's about embracing the antiheroes of our stories and tasting "the thrill of noncompliance."
In "Refusal," Nolan takes her sexual and emotional temperature and unravels years of social conditioning. She turns toward something far better, a counter-cultural pivot toward "playing the villain." To be self-possessed and self-actualized in our patriarchal society is, she explains in a later piece, "downright villainous." The essay "Mothers Superior," stunning in scope, describes mothering as a "godlike function" and makes a persuasive case for motherhood as a far more accurate description of God.
Crafted with Nolan's intellectually curious, animated narration, Good Woman will resonate with readers who sense that things are not working out quite the way they should. For them, Nolan's essays offer a dynamic framework, a "working compass" for redesigning our roles without altering or diluting the magical essence of what makes us uniquely female. --Shahina Piyarali