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Hey Reader,

You may have heard Laurel Thatcher Ulrich’s quote that “well-behaved women seldom make history” — it’s on mugs and t-shirts and inspirational Instagram posts often.

Perhaps you don’t know, though, that Ulrich was referencing the fact that “good wives” in Puritan towns were never involved in court cases, so their names only survived on gravestones, in family bibles, and possibly in wills.

Men were all over the written sources — in business transactions, literature, histories, deeds, and other documents.

The original quote is a nice soundbite but it carefully covers up the fact that although women have always made up about 50% of the global population, they occupy a minute percentage of recorded history. Probably only 1-2%.

And what about women of the global majority — women who are not white — and LGBTQ people and disabled people and poor people? Where are their voices and stories?

Certainly not, for the most part, in any of the historical sources.

That means our history isn’t our history at all.

Yes, there are certain facts that are indisputable, but history is written by people. By men. Mostly white men. Which means the history we study and are taught comes from the perspective of a very small group of people who had and have a vested interested in skewing it to suit their politics, their goals, and to hoard their power.

When we start to put women’s voices back into history, the picture begins to look very different.

There are many reasons why I do what I do.

Many reasons why I’m so passionate about everyone being able to use their voice to tell their story.

But this is probably the biggest.

It’s OUR story. Our history. We have a right — ALL of us have a right, men included — to as accurate representation of who we are collectively as possible. We don’t have that.

Now more than ever it’s crucial to get as many voices as possible telling their stories in a way that cannot be manipulated by algorithms or co-opted by extremists.

Books are one of the most important ways we can do this.

My client, Yinka Ewuola, spoke about this last night at the Bristol Self-Expression Session hosted by Sophie Lee. She reminded me WHY I’m so passionate about what I do. As did Sophie and Samantha Harman, the other brilliant women talking about their books.

They’re all my clients and I am beyond privileged to be working with them.

Let me tell you some of the books I’m lucky enough to be working on at the moment: Yinka’s book on cash and money and the wider implications of what we can do when wealth is in the hands of people who want to build a better world — a book on money by a Black woman who deeply understands how this works.

Sophie’s book on why women have consistently been erased and have shrunk themselves, why we are often in our own way, and how to do begin to undo that.

Samantha’s book on why our wardrobes are so much more than “just clothes” — what our clothes and our attitude to them say about who we are, what we stand for, and what the ripple effects are in the world. How they can be used to keep us small, or make sure everyone knows exactly who we are. And so much more than that.

A disabled man’s story of how he literally beat every single odd to come back from death and life-changing brain injuries, and what we can learn from his journey. An accessible Black history to help teachers show the next generation what Britain truly is. A book by a young autistic man who wants to change the way neurodivergent people are treated. A book about city soundscapes and what that says about the wider geopolitical arena. A personal history of identity and belonging from a British Asian woman. A working class man who left school with nothing and now helps kids think about their careers and what’s possible for them. A Black man who left school with nothing and created a career for himself as a jeweller, and wants to share his story so others can see that there are ways to do what you want even if it looks like all the doors are closed.

These are the stories of all of us. They shape who we were, who we are, and who we might be. They MATTER.

So yes, I want to help people write their book because it’s an amazing thing to do for you and for your business and for your clients and for your readers.

But it’s also crucial because if your voice becomes part of the historical record, it means our history is richer and deeper and more truthful.

And now for the Friday Goodie Bag. Are you ready? Here’s what I’ve found for you…

When the group chat gets leaked

Ever had a mild panic about what might happen if something you said to someone in private got made public? I know I have. I think if we’re honest, most of us have. It’s even worse when you’re famous. And worse still for famous women. Jameela Jamil (who I LOVE) has written a whole piece about what happens when one part of what you said is taken out of context and weaponised. It’s really interesting. And she doesn’t shirk responsibility for shit-talking someone. She simply points out that we ALL do it, it’s just that most of the time most of us get away with it. It’s a very human thing to do. Anyway, have a read. And consider, next time you see a “terrible quote” from a famous person, whether having some context might change things.

Why we need diverse voices

Ever heard of Lynn Margulis? No shade if you didn’t. She was an evolutionary biologist and like many women in science, she’s been ignored. She was the primary cheerleader for the theory of endosymbiosis in evolution and her ideas were dismissed for decades because the accepted theory — survival of the fittest — was mainstream. And, of course, put forward by men who couldn’t imagine any other way of evolving.

Margulis studied mitochondria and chloroplasts and realised they had their own DNA and were probably separate organisms originally. Her formative paper, On the Origin of Mitosing Cells, appeared in 1967 after being rejected by about fifteen journals because it didn’t fit the narrative. Her theory was that co-operation was as important as competition, and she was right. It would have been easier for her to give up in the face of so much dismissal but she never did. Would a man have come up with this? Maybe, but until Margulis, none had, so…

Fashion Brand Company’s product descriptions

A friend of mine shared FBC’s clothes a year or so ago and I was instantly obsessed with their weird designs. But then I got obsessed with their copywriting. Specifically the plant leather penny coat in green (“would you like to look like one of the street walkers from Home Alone 2 that taunted a young, scared Kevin McCallister?) and the banana stripe maxi dress. I really want the moth mini dress and whatever the hell this is. Also this death cloak is magnificent. Look, can you just buy everything I sell so I can furnish myself with their entire catalogue please and thanks?

Please make a movie about Robert Smalls

In a world with 4,392 Fast & Furious movies, 289 MCU movies, and 3 Pitch Perfects, is it too much to ask for a movie about an enslaved man who commandeered a Confederate transport ship, sailed it to the blockade, piloted it to the Union-controlled enclave, and made it a Union warship? Robert Smalls freed himself, his crew, and their families. He helped persuade Abe Lincoln to accept Black soldiers into the Union Army. He became a politician and founded the Republican Party of South Carolina (yep they weren’t always fascists). Then he bought the house where he was formerly enslaved. What a dude. What a story.

Can you read 900 words per minute?

Surprisingly, I could. Check this out. It’s really interesting and also kinda meditative.

What I’m reading

I’ve just finished Others Like Me, a memoir about being a woman with no children, containing many stories from many women who don’t have children for various reasons. I loved it because it made me feel seen and less alone. Which is why your voice matters. I’m now reading The Liars’ Club by Mary Karr because I can’t quite believe I’ve never read it before. So far I love it. Her childhood was wild.

What I’m writing

I’m tweaking my stand-up comedy set for tonight’s comedy night at the Piston Distillery in Worcester. Wish me luck!

Word of the week

balderdash

n. a rapidly receding hairline.

Haha, I got this from a neologism contest published by The Washington Post and it made me laugh. What new meanings could you make from existing words?

Quote of the week

That’s all for today! Have a beautiful weekend. Spread a little joy.

TTFN,

Vicky 🫡

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