Tuesday, December 15, 2015

A Must Read Book for Parents with Girls on How to Raise Young Women with Passion and Purpose -- BRAVE GIRLS by Stacey Radin (Book Review) #BraveGirls @UnleashedNyOrg

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post by Pivoting Media Project to raise awareness of the book and Unleashed. All opinions in this post are mine and mine alone.


Dr. Stacey Radin's mission is to build confidence in young girls,
and guide a generation to become passionate leaders.




Atria Books
288 pages
Published January 6, 2015
ISBN 9781451699302, $25.00
eBook ISBN:
9781451699326, $12.99
To purchase the book on Amazon, click here.

It wasn't until I had girls of my own that I started to really see the importance of parenting in such a way to raise strong and powerful girls who one day can become a leader.  


I don't blame my own mother for a lack of parenting when it came to raising me, as this was not the norm 30+ years ago.  Just like my mom and her mom and grandmother before her, the women in the family were raised to be nurturers and care for the family.  This meant becoming a mother and caretaker of the home and family -- A.K.A - homemaker.  Women during these time periods never thought they would grow up to be a woman leader.  But, oh times have changed.  Now, women are being raised to believe that they can do anything they want.  Some women are even becoming the primary breadwinners in the house, which would have been unheard back in the day.

While there are shifts in the right direction for women's roles in today's day and age, there are still archaic notions about what a woman should do and limits are still being placed on us.  We are still making less than our male counterparts, even though we are doing the same, if not more work than they are.  Also, men are still in the forefront of the leadership in companies, as many still feel men are the leaders and women are the supporters.



When I look at my girls I see so much possibility in what they can become as the grow and develop into strong willed women.  I try to instill "the sky's the limit" when raising them, but find myself reading articles in the paper about women taking one step forward in leadership roles and then others having them take two steps back.  Hopefully as the years go by and more and more women, who have been raised by strong willed mothers and have been given the necessary tools to be great leaders and in control of their voices, enter the workplace and rise to the top of the corporate ladder, that it will make things easier for girls growing up today, to truly thrive and achieve great things.  

While this book is geared towards parents with girls going through the middle school years, I have found it to be a great start to paving the way for my girls to build the necessary confidence and passion and drive to become powerful young leaders.  I know that back in middle school I started to get interested in science and math. And, when it came time to choosing my course load in middle and high school, I found only a handful of girls in these male dominated classes.  We found ourselves extra hard to prove to the boys and the teachers that we could handle it and excel.  Years later I still keep in touch with these girls.  Only a handful went on to pursue carries in the sciences and/or math.  Without a push from their parents and teachers those who chose alternate paths said they didn't have the confidence and passion to go the distance and achieve goals or aspirations they had partly based on their gender.  Hearing this and knowing firsthand how hard it was to get a BS in Public Health, I don't want to hear my girls tell me years later that they dreamed for more, but settled for what was expected for them.  

Thanks to research done by the author about women struggling in the professional world and realizing that it all begins in the middle school years, this book is written as a guidebook for parents and even educators to help girls reach their ultimate potential while also sharing tools to help them become confident, passionate and powerful leaders.


I found myself marking up pages that talked about contributing factors that lead to failure including bullying, fear of speaking out, excessive competition, etc. so that I could identify these patterns when my girls reach the formative middle school years and help them break these patterns, so that they can flourish and be inspired to be the next generation of strong-willed women leaders ready to conquer the world or whatever is put in front of them.

I truly hope that one day women will be looked at as equals to when and that they will be given the same opportunities for growth within a company that brings with it equal pay and benefits.  And, my biggest hope is that my girls will be front and center to show that they are born leaders and have purpose and drive and passion -- all key ingredients that make for a powerful and successful leader.  Dream big and achieve big is what I continue to tell them, and after reading and re-reading "Brave Girls" by Stacey Radin, I now how a better sets of tools to help them grow and achieve great things.


If you are a parent to a young daughter, or know someone who is, you will want to pick up a copy of Stacey's book, "Brave Girls" to read and/or pass around.  Be sure you have a highlighting or sticky notes ready to mark up pages, as you read through this wonderfully written book that offers the necessary tools for parents (and even grandparents and caregivers) to raise young girls to stand up and fight for what they believe in, own their voice and never let someone tell them they are capable of doing something just because of their gender.  I couldn't put this book down and have been busy passing it along to friends with young girls so that they could read inspiring and moving stories of girls having their lives transformed, and how the same can be done with your own children through the useful tools and tips shared throughout the pages of this must own parenting book.

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About the Book:

BRAVE GIRLS: RAISING YOUNG WOMEN WITH PASSION AND PURPOSE TO BECOME POWERFUL LEADERS (Atria, January 6, 2015, Hardcover) is the story and the science behind this endeavor. After interviewing hundreds of high-achieving businesswomen, Dr. Radin discovered that even the country's most accomplished female professionals were often hampered by insecurity and afraid of being considered too aggressive in a business world run largely by men. She is dedicated to uncovering the inherent
strengths, value, and skills of young girls.

Dr. Radin research with these women proved that these harmful thoughts are formed in middle school, when identity development is at its peak. Even as responsible adults, women still faced the confining and outdated gender norm of the "nice little girl."

To weaken the power of this limiting message, Dr. Radin founded Unleashed, an after-school program that introduces pre-teen girls to an important social cause—animal rescue—and gives them a passion, a key element in being engaged and successful in both the workplace and in life. While the girls create solutions to the task of rescuing neglected and abused dogs, they learn compassion and resilience, how to interact with peers with empathy and respect, and develop resourcefulness and critical thinking skills. “A solid resource for parents and educators working with middle school girls; the program goals can be adapted to other issues.

BRAVE GIRLS will show educators and parents how to recognize and encourage the confidence and leadership potential of young girls, and demonstrate how making them aware of their strengths is valuable not only to them, but to society as a whole.

The vision of Unleased is "to unleash the power of girls, investing in the next generation of female change-makers." Readers of Radin’s empowering book will feel inspired and hopeful that this group of girls will permanently smash the glass ceiling."

About the Author:

Stacey Radin : portraits

Stacey Radin is a psychologist, researcher, and consultant who has dedicated her career to the development of girls and women. She is the founder and president of Corporate Equilibrium, specializing in the psychology of organizational effectiveness, and a member of the United Nation’s Working Group on Girls. 

About Unleashed:



Founded in 2010 by psychologist and leadership consultant Dr. Stacey Radin (Psy.D), Unleashed is a twelve-week after-school program currently in place in fifteen schools & three community centers in the U.S. 

Shelly & Brooke edt.JPG

To date they have served over 300 girls, rescued over 400 puppies, and run 24 programs in more than 15 schools. The program seeks to "revolutionize gender in our society" by teaching pre-teen girls to take charge in the goal of dog rescue. By becoming experts in animal rights and welfare, Dr. Radin coaches girls to think big, collaborate, and discover and exercise their power to make a difference in society and take a stand against injustice.

To learn more about Unleased and author Stacey Radin, visit her website at : www.unleashedny.org/author/stacey-radin
Follow along on social media...

To get involved in Unleased, visit http://www.unleashedny.org/get-involved
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post by Pivoting Media Project to raise awareness of the book and Unleashed. All opinions in the above post are mine and mine alone.

1 comment :

  1. This book sounds amazing and so important. I would love to see this made into a television series. It so important to teach young girl confidence especially in this day and age.
    heather [email protected]

    ReplyDelete