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Reading lists

12 must-read queer books

Rachel E. Cargle

Rachel Cargle is that rare sort of phoenix who rises from the ashes of her life not only reborn on the personal level, but also fully ready to change the world ... an elegant, thoughtful, vulnerable, and inspiring memoir

Dazzling -a loving, bold tale of imagination, bravery, and radical action in the face of injustice

Profoundly moving and powerful ... you will leave these pages changed for the better

Gabrielle Union, author of We're Going to Need More Wine

Beautiful ... This book is not meant to be simply consumed but explored

Joy Harden Bradford, founder of Therapy for Black Girls and author of Sisterhood Heals

Cargle recounts how she spun silk out of the thread bare yarns of patriarchy and white supremacy while reminding readers that such alchemy is possible ... if we give ourselves permission to re-imagine our existences

Sonya Renee Taylor, author of The Body is Not an Apology

A collection of lessons and questions that prompt the reader's own life redesign

A Memoir and Manifesto on Reimagining

From a highly lauded modern voice in feminism and racial justice comes a deeply personal and insightful testament to the power of reimagining to dismantle the frameworks and systems that no longer serve us while building new ones that do. 
 
There are breaking points in all our lives when we realise that the way things have been done before just don't work for us anymore, be it the way we approach our relationships, our belief systems, our work, our education, even our rest. For activist, philanthropist and CEO Rachel E. Cargle, reimagining - the act of creating in our minds that which does not exist but that we believe can and should - has been a lifelong process. Reimagining served as the most powerful catalyst for Cargle's personal transformation from a small-town Christian wife to an incisive queer feminist voice of a generation. 
 
In A Renaissance of Our Own, we witness the sometimes painful but always inspiring breaking points in Cargle's life that fostered a truer identity. These defining moments offer a blueprint for how we must all use our imagination - the space that sees beyond limits - to live in alignment with our highest values and to craft a world independent of oppressive structures, both personal and societal. Cargle now invites you to acknowledge ways of being that stem from societal expectations instead of your personal truth, and to embark on a renaissance of your own. She provides the very tools and prompts that she used to unearth her own truth, tools that opened her up to being a more authentic feminist and purpose-driven matriarchal leader. 
 
A Renaissance of Our Own gives us the courage to look at the world and say, 'I want something different.' It serves as a reminder of the power and possibility of reimagining a life that feels right, all the way down to the marrow of your bones.

Rachel E. Cargle

Praise for A Renaissance of Our Own

Rachel Cargle is that rare sort of phoenix who rises from the ashes of her life not only reborn on the personal level, but also fully ready to change the world ... an elegant, thoughtful, ...

Dazzling -a loving, bold tale of imagination, bravery, and radical action in the face of injustice

Profoundly moving and powerful ... you will leave these pages changed for the better

Rachel Cargle is that rare sort of phoenix who rises from the ashes of her life not only reborn on the personal level, but also fully ready to change the world ... an elegant, thoughtful, ...

Dazzling -a loving, bold tale of imagination, bravery, and radical action in the face of injustice

Profoundly moving and powerful ... you will leave these pages changed for the better

Rachel Cargle is that rare sort of phoenix who rises from the ashes of her life not only reborn on the personal level, but also fully ready to change the world ... an elegant, thoughtful, ...

Dazzling -a loving, bold tale of imagination, bravery, and radical action in the face of injustice

Profoundly moving and powerful ... you will leave these pages changed for the better

Articles featuring Rachel E. Cargle

12 must-read queer books

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