Motivational Books for Women

Are you looking for the next best motivational book for women? Whether you want inspiration in your personal or professional life, you can’t go wrong with these seven books.

Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes

From the genius mind who created Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Scandal, and more comes Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand in the Sun and Be Your Own Person. Rhimes wrote the book when her sister told her that she didn’t seem to be reaching for anything outside of her comfort zone. Rhimes took that as a challenge, and decided that for a year, she would say “yes” to everything that scared her. Year of Yes is perfect for women who want to be inspired to conquer their fears, embrace challenges, and live a bigger, fuller life.

The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates

Melinda Gates, billionaire philanthropist and one half of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has seen the world. And in all of her travels, she’s found one thing to be true: “If you want to lift a society up, you need to stop keeping women down.” The Moment of Lift encourages readers to support women from all walks of life, and also gives a glimpse into the ways that Gates has struggled for and championed women’s equality in her own marriage.

Very Good Lives by J.K. Rowling

J.K. Rowling isn’t just the brilliant creator of the Harry Potter series. She’s also a woman who worked her way from living in poverty off of government benefits to becoming the first billionaire author in the world. Very Good Lives – the book version of the 2008 commencement speech she delivered at Harvard – is a credo to the importance of creativity, imagination, and hard work.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life by Jane Sherron De Hart

Sometimes, the best motivation is simply hearing an inspiring woman’s life story. That’s exactly what you’ll get with Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life, the biography of the trailblazing Supreme Court justice? The book explores the intricacies of Ginsburg’s life in great detail (it’s 750 pages), so the reader gets the full sense of how Ginsburg became the justice and champion for gender equality she is today.

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert

If you’re a woman who’s also a creative type, then Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear is the book for you. In it, Elizabeth Gilbert (author of the NYT Bestselling Eat, Pray, Love) breaks down the creative process and teaches her readers how to do the hardest part of creating: start. Big Magic helps get creative types unstuck and find inspiration in the little things all around them.

Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg

If you’ve ever heard a boss or a mentor encouraging you to “lean in,” then it’s probably because they read this book. In Lean In, Sandberg (the former Chief Operating Officer at Facebook) uses stories from her personal and professional life to encourage women to succeed and lead. The book covers everything, from finding mentors to negotiating for higher pay to building a satisfying and successful career, no matter what your field.

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

Wild isn’t a self-help book: it’s a memoir. Still, it’s one of those memoirs that is so inspiring that it’s one of our favorite motivational books for women. Strayed, the author and podcast advice columnist, wrote Wild about her experience hiking the Appalachian Trail as a 22-year-old woman who had just lost her mother and had her world upended. It’s an inspiring story about how saying yes and doing the impulsive, foolish thing can sometimes be exactly what we need.

What is your favorite inspirational or motivational book for women?