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Must-read books by women, as chosen by our readers

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Imposter syndrome and how women can overcome it at work

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Women, Work, and the Will to Lead

Lean In

A provocative and inspiring work on overcoming the obstacles facing women on the path to leadership

Lively, entertaining, urgent, and yes, even courageous … Lean In is both a radical read and incredibly accessible … While it’s obvious that women have much to gain from reading Sandberg’s book, so do men – perhaps even more so

A brave book to write … direct, funny and critical

Any woman should welcome Lean In as a guide to cracking the glass ceiling

A feminist’s manual of grace, grit and humour

Sandberg is the sort of figure that any woman – and any man – should find admirable … An inspiring read.

If you loved Sheryl Sandberg’s incredible TEDTalk on why we have too few women leaders, or simply believe as I do that we need equality in the boardroom, then this book is for you. As Facebook’s COO, Sheryl Sandberg has first-hand experience of why having more women in leadership roles is good for business as well as society. Lean In is essential reading for anyone interested in righting the injustice of this inequality

Sir Richard Branson, Chairman, the Virgin Group

For the past five years, I've sat at a desk next to Sheryl and I've learned something from her almost every day. She has a remarkable intelligence that can cut through complex processes and find solutions to the hardest problems. Lean In combines Sheryl's ability to synthesize information with her understanding of how to get the best out of people. The book is smart and honest and funny. Her words will help all readers—especially men—to become better and more effective leaders

Mark Zuckerberg, Founder and CEO, Facebook

Lean in, man up – the clarion call to women everywhere to take leadership roles and end the gender inequalities of the work place

Sandberg’s message matters deeply: it has a shot at bringing about a cultural change that would improve the lives of all women.

Empowering career advice … Sandberg has produced a clear and engaging treatise outlining the sociological forces that work against women’s professional advancement. To that end she has added personal anecdotes and reflections from forging her own career in a male-dominated work-force, giving an intriguing glimpse into the experience of one of the most successful women in business … Lean In is as much a leadership manifesto as a feminist one

Sandberg urges working mothers, or as she calls them ‘career-loving parents’, to get over their fears of being inadequate mothers … I don’t care if Sandberg wears Prada ankle boots or Birkenstocks, she has a valid point to make. There is nothing to be complacent about

Lean In poses a set of ambitious challenges to women: to create the lives we want, to be leaders in our work, to be partners in our homes, and to be champions of other women. Sheryl provides pragmatic advice on how women in the twenty-first century can meet these challenges. I hope women—and men—of my generation will read this book to help us build the lives we want to lead and the world we want to live in

Sheryl provides practical suggestions for managing and overcoming the challenges that arise on the “jungle gym” of career advancement. I nodded my head in agreement and laughed out loud as I read these pages. Lean In is a superb, witty, candid, and meaningful read for women (and men) of all generations

Condoleezza Rice, Former U.S. Secretary of State

What Sandberg offers is a view that shows 20-somethings that choices and trade-offs surely exist, but that the ‘old normal’ of blunting ambition so that you can fit in one category or another does not have to be the way it is.

The key to opening some of life’s most difficult doors is already in our hands. Sheryl's book reminds us that we can reach within ourselves to achieve greatness

Sheryl Sandberg brilliantly explains how she believes women must put themselves forward if the gender gap is ever to be closed – I agree, but I would add women should not only lean in, but also stand up and cheer.

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, ‘No one can make you feel inferior without your permission.’  With stories from her own life and data carefully researched, Sheryl Sandberg reminds women that they have to believe in themselves and reach for opportunities.  More women than men may need that advice, but I'd bet that both genders would profit from this very well-done book

Marjorie Scardino, Former CEO, Pearson PLC

Sheryl Sandberg is Chief Operating Officer at Facebook. Prior to Facebook, Sandberg was Vice President of Global Online Sales and Operations at Google. She previously served as Chief of Staff for the United States Treasury Department under President Bill Clinton.

Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In is a massive cultural phenomenon and its title has become an instant catchphrase for empowering women. The book soared to the top of bestseller lists internationally, igniting global conversations about women and ambition. Sandberg packed theatres, dominated opinion pages, appeared on every major television show and on the cover of Time magazine, and sparked ferocious debate about women and leadership. 
 
Ask most women whether they have the right to equality at work and the answer will be a resounding yes, but ask the same women whether they'd feel confident asking for a raise, a promotion, or equal pay, and some reticence creeps in. 
 
The statistics, although an improvement on previous decades, are certainly not in women's favour – of 197 heads of state, only twenty-two are women. Women hold just 20 percent of seats in parliaments globally, and in the world of big business, a meagre eighteen of the Fortune 500 CEOs are women. 
 
In Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg – Facebook COO and one of Fortune magazine's Most Powerful Women in Business – draws on her own experience of working in some of the world's most successful businesses and looks at what women can do to help themselves, and make the small changes in their life that can effect change on a more universal scale.

For Graduates

An exclusive graduate edition of the provocative and inspiring bestseller on overcoming the obstacles facing women in business

"Because the world needs you to change it" 
 
Expanded and updated exclusively for graduates just entering the workforce, this extraordinary new edition of Lean In includes a letter to graduates from Sheryl Sandberg and six additional chapters from experts offering advice on finding and getting the most out of a first job; CV writing; best interviewing practices; negotiating your salary; listening to your inner voice; owning who you are; and leaning in for millennial men. 
 
In 2013, Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In became a massive cultural phenomenon and its title became an instant catchphrase for empowering women. The book soared to the top of bestseller lists internationally, igniting global conversations about women and ambition. Sandberg packed theatres, dominated op-ed pages, appeared on every major television show and on the cover of Time magazine, and sparked ferocious debate about women and leadership. Now, this enhanced edition provides the entire text of the original book updated with more recent statistics and features a passionate letter from Sandberg encouraging graduates to find and commit to work they love. A combination of inspiration and practical advice, this new edition will speak directly to graduates and, like the original, will change lives. 
 
New Material for the Graduate Edition: 
· A Letter to Graduates from Sheryl Sandberg 
· Find Your First Job, by Mindy Levy (Levy has more than twenty years of experience in all phases of organisational management and holds degrees from Wharton and Penn) 
· Negotiate Your Salary, by Kim Keating (Keating is the founder and managing director of Keating Advisors) 
· Man Up: Millennial Men and Equality, by Kunal Modi (Modi is a consultant at McKinsey &amp; Company and a recent graduate of Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School) 
· Leaning In Together, by Rachel Thomas (Thomas is the president of Lean In) 
· Own Who You Are, by Mellody Hobson (Hobson is the president of Ariel Investments) 
· Listen to Your Inner Voice, by Rachel Simmons (Simmons is cofounder of the Girls Leadership Institute) 
· 14 Lean In stories (500-word essays), by readers around the world who have been inspired by Sandberg

Sheryl Sandberg

Adam Grant

Option B is the single wisest book about grief I have ever found ... I have tried to think of anyone who would not find Option B invaluable at some point in their life, and I can’t.

Remarkable, generous, honest, [and] almost unbearably poignant … This is a book that will be quietly passed from hand to hand, and it will surely offer great comfort to its intended readers.

It's a humbling - and tearjerking - story of humanity.

I recommend this inspiring book to everyone around the world. None of us can escape sadness, loss, or life’s disappointments, so the best option is to find our Option B.

MALALA YOUSAFZAI, Nobel Peace Prize winner

Sheryl writes about her own heartbreaking experience with a rare honesty. Then she and Adam translate her personal story into a powerful, practical guide for anyone trying to build resilience in their own lives, communities, and companies. It’s hard enough to resonate with readers. It’s even harder to help take concrete steps towards a better future. Option B does both.

BILL AND MELINDA GATES, co-chairs of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Thoughtful, insightful, and compelling. Both individually and collectively, we all need to understand the power of rehabilitation, recovery, and redemption if we are to overcome adversity. This incredible book doesn’t avoid the loss and tragedy we all sometimes encounter, but it is animated by a resolve that is both inspiring and instructive.

BRYAN STEVENSON, author of Just Mercy and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative

Option B is as hopeful as it is heartbreaking. Here are stories of sometimes unimaginable pain and loss, but also of how human beings nonetheless have the capacity to endure and even thrive. This book is not just an absorbing read. It also provides lessons that everyone needs to learn.

Illuminating, original, and deeply inspiring, Option B is one part riveting memoir, one part heal-your-heart boot camp, one part stories of others who learned to thrive in the face of profound loss: a practical, vital contribution to the literature on loss and resilience.

As someone who has spent the last 25 years immersed in the field of grief and bereavement I didn’t think I’d learn very much from Option B, but I did. It gave me useful ideas, ways of thinking and small steps that help rebuild a life after the death of someone we love. Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant have succeeded in combining useful information with heartfelt stories, which is illuminating and helpful. It is a book I highly recommend.

Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy

In 2015 Sheryl Sandberg’s husband, Dave Goldberg, died suddenly at the age of forty-eight. Sandberg and her two young children were devastated, and she was certain that their lives would never have real joy or meaning again. 
 
Just weeks later, Sandberg was talking with a friend about the first father-child activity without a father. They came up with a plan for someone to fill in. “But I want Dave,” she cried. Her friend put his arm around her and said, “Option A is not available. So let’s just kick the shit out of Option B.” 
 
Everyone experiences some form of Option B. We all deal with loss: jobs lost, loves lost, lives lost. The question is not whether these things will happen but how we face them when they do. 
 
Thoughtful, honest, revealing and warm, OPTION B weaves Sandberg’s experiences coping with adversity with new findings from Adam Grant and other social scientists. The book features stories of people who recovered from personal and professional hardship, including illness, injury, divorce, job loss, sexual assault and imprisonment. These people did more than recover—many of them became stronger. 
 
OPTION B offers compelling insights for dealing with hardships in our own lives and helping others in crisis. It turns out that post-traumatic growth is common—even after the most devastating experiences many people don’t just bounce back but actually bounce forward. And pre-traumatic growth is also possible: people can build resilience even if they have not experienced tragedy. Sandberg and Grant explore how we can raise strong children, create resilient communities and workplaces, and find meaning, love and joy in our lives. 
 
“Dave’s death changed me in very profound ways,” Sandberg writes. “I learned about the depths of sadness and the brutality of loss. But I also learned that when life sucks you under, you can kick against the bottom, break the surface and breathe again.”

Sheryl Sandberg

Praise for Option B

Option B is the single wisest book about grief I have ever found ... I have tried to think of anyone who would not find Option B invaluable at some point in their life, and I can’t.

Remarkable, generous, honest, [and] almost unbearably poignant … This is a book that will be quietly passed from hand to hand, and it will surely offer great comfort to its intended readers.

It's a humbling - and tearjerking - story of humanity.

Option B is the single wisest book about grief I have ever found ... I have tried to think of anyone who would not find Option B invaluable at some point in their life, and I can’t.

Remarkable, generous, honest, [and] almost unbearably poignant … This is a book that will be quietly passed from hand to hand, and it will surely offer great comfort to its intended readers.

It's a humbling - and tearjerking - story of humanity.

Option B is the single wisest book about grief I have ever found ... I have tried to think of anyone who would not find Option B invaluable at some point in their life, and I can’t.

Remarkable, generous, honest, [and] almost unbearably poignant … This is a book that will be quietly passed from hand to hand, and it will surely offer great comfort to its intended readers.

It's a humbling - and tearjerking - story of humanity.

Books by Sheryl Sandberg

Articles featuring Sheryl Sandberg

Must-read books by women, as chosen by our readers

Imposter syndrome and how women can overcome it at work

8 books to help you survive and thrive

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