Reading what women (or men’s voices for men) have had to say through a biographer or from their own words of wisdom can be very empowering when you are going through your own healing process. Whether you are a victim – still in the home, or a survivor – out and trying to get your life back, a woman’s voice can be very strong, very educational, and very relatable. It doesn’t matter who you choose, let your intuitive powers guide you to this choice and then be prepared to sit back and indulge yourself in another woman’s experience.

It won’t matter if they are a Queen, an actress, a singer, or an astronaut. What their career or calling was or is, is not relevant, they did not get there over night and they did not get there easily. This is the part that you can relate to. And, you are not reading their story because you want to be them. You are reading their story to feel validated as a woman (or a man). To embrace the struggles they have gone through, that you yourself may have also endured. To realize that person is a human being. To know that you are not alone.

I always tell people that the woman I identified with the most was Catherine the Great – the longest of all the Emperors/Empresses to serve Russia. People will look at me and say “How can you feel your story was anything like hers?” Well, I went through an abusive husband, I had my child removed from me by a mother – allowed through the system, I suffered great emotional turmoil and struggled to get to where I am in life. Empress Catherine also turned her country around by making it a more intellectual place to be. She made it a place people wanted to come to – at that time. Then many decades later, the communist decided to shoot up her descendants in one fell swoop and now we have Putin and all the men that came before him. It is no longer a place people want to be. I may not have built a country, but I have built a business. The concepts are quite similar.

The story of Catherine the Great was very similar to my favorite novel as a child – Jane Eyre. There were elements from both of these women and their journeys that came together. Women who dealt with abuse and in the end came out on top, as a survivor. Became heroines. Lived a much wiser life – a life that they wanted, not that someone dictated.

Currently, I am reading a biography about Oriana Fallaci. An Italian journalist who began her career as a child who rode her bike, undetected through enemy lines to get messages to the resistance (and sometimes weapons). My boyfriend and I are considering retiring in Italy, thanks to his ancestors and I want to learn everything I can through the voices of the women there. Those who gave birth to this nation. My second request when you are looking for a woman to read about (or a man for men) is to find someone in your culture, in your ancestry, or someone that calls to you – perhaps you have some past life connection to that era. By doing so, you will be reaching into your soul and listening to the words of an elder. If you are from several cultures or races, you will be able to identify with them and it will help you to identify with your self.

Reading is fundamental to your growth, to building self-esteem, giving you confidence and as I mentioned before validates your own story as a woman. Showing you that you are not alone. The old saying “If they can do it, you can do it.” Maybe you will not be a queen, but you will hold reign in your own life. You will create and manifest your own destiny. You will become the woman you have always wanted to be.