Seven Must-Read Books by Gloria Steinem

Happy 82nd birthday to our cofounder, Gloria Steinem! In honor of the occasion, we’re sharing some of our favorite quotes from her many wonderful books.

1. My Life on the Road

“One of the simplest paths to deep change is for the less powerful to speak as much as they listen, and for the more powerful to listen as much as they speak.”

2. Revolution from Within: A Book of Self-Esteem

“The human mind can imagine both how to break self-esteem and how to nurture it—and imagining anything is the first step toward creating it. Believing in a true self is what allows a true self to be born.”

3. Moving Beyond Words: Age, Range, Sex, Power, Money, Muscles: Breaking Boundaries of Gender

“Whatever you’ve imagined your limits of strength and daring to be, the strongest woman in the world can inspire you to go beyond them. That’s what champions are for.”

4. Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions

“Now, we are becoming the men we wanted to marry. Once, women were trained to marry a doctor, not be one.”

5. Doing Sixty and Seventy

“If time is relative, doing new things actually makes us feel we’ve lived a longer life.”

6. The Beach Book

“To keep from feeling guilty about spending so much time on a tan, it is advisable to read or think something while you lie there.”

7. Marilyn

“How dare [Marilyn Monroe] be just as vulnerable and unconfident as I felt?” (Steinem, after leaving a screening of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes as a teenager.)

About

Jumana Bambot is an editorial intern at Ms.