Schuller's essential audiobook--wonderfully narrated by Christine Lakin and Mela Lee--expertly defines both white and intersectional feminism and compares and contrasts the work of some of the movements' female standard bearers. This compare/contrast literary format is both an ingenious way to illustrate white feminism's faults and harms, but to also keep this academic discussion easily digestible and accessible to all readers. Her thesis is forthright and bold: White feminism (through 1940s suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton to Facebook leader Sheryl Sandberg of Lean In fame) has failed to work towards intersectional feminism that promotes a true gender equality that dovetails with the fights for racial, economic, sexual, and disability justice. In short, white feminism promotes equality for white, middle-class women and forgets to include ALL women, including trans women, Black women, poor women, and disabled women.

Schuller isn't shy in her condemnations of the work of well-know white feminists. The writings and work of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Alice Fletcher, Margaret Sanger, Pauli Murray, Janice Raymond, and Sheryl Sandberg are dissected to show their flaws and how they held back opportunities for all women by centering white women in the narrative for equality. On the flip side, the work and achievements of often-overlooked (at least in school and history books) Black, trans, and indigenous women are touted. I had no clue a trans woman activist named Sandy Stone worked tirelessly to promote trans rights in the 1970s and 1980s. Yet, I HAD heard about Anita Bryant, an anti-trans writer and singer from the same time period.

I highly recommend this book, particularly for white women. It's an essential examination of white feminism's past and present insistence on centering white, middle-class women as the only ones who deserve true equality. Instead, as Schuller advocates for here, intersectional feminism is the true goal. It centers all women, no matter economic circumstance or racial, ethnic, or gender identity. For all women to be treated equal in the world's power structures, all women need to be fought for...not just white, middle-class women.

Much thanks to @NetGalley and @HachetteAudio for the free copies of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'll be honest, this book was much more profound than I was expecting. While I anticipated that Sutton would discuss her love of crafts and art, I didn't think she'd be so open and honest about her complicated upbringing and her life on stage. The details she shared about her parents, particularly her mom, were shocking and riveting. And I loved how the good and bad details of her life were threaded through the discussions of her various works of art and crochet. Her passion for art/knitting/theater shines through every page.

A mix of memoir, arts and crafts talk, and behind-the-scenes info about the theater/TV world make this book a great read/listen. I loved it. Highly recommend if you're looking for a surprising, intimate, and engrossing memoir by a great actress, who also seems like a genuinely nice and down-to-Earth person.

It's no secret that I loved Uzma's debut romance, Ayesha at Last. Her latest features the same framework as Ayesha: Reimagining a past romance classic (in this case You've Got Mail) with Muslim characters living in Toronto that is enhanced by delectable descriptions of Indian food and familial drama.

This is a romance (with a surprising amount of heat from two characters who never even kiss) that beautifully presents Indian-Muslim representation, while also addressing real-life issues like Islamaphobia and bigotry. I appreciated the main plot lines about these issues. It jibed so well with the main romance and the individual and "couple" growth of both Hana and Aydin. And, really, isn't that what a good romance does? Gives you the happily-ever-after required, but also injects some real-life issues and character growth along the way? I highly recommend this one. It's a wonderful addition to the #ownvoices contemporary romance canon.

It's no secret that I loved Uzma's debut romance, Ayesha at Last.

This book is astounding. Easily one of my favorites of the year.

An epic tale of history, art, love, loss, and life, this novel felt like a lush, expansive movie. Author Winman crafts a vivid, mesmerizing narrative that covers 40 years of history, both big moments and everyday occurances.

In 1944, Ulysses Temper, an Allied forces soldier, has a chance meeting with an older art historian named Evelyn Skinner. As bombs fall, they hide out in a wine cellar in Florence with Temper's Captain. The brief moment in time stays with both Ulysses and Evelyn even after they say farewell. After the war ends, Ulysses heads back to his hometown of London to a rag-tag group of pub-goers who are family more than friends and his estranged wife Peg, who, in his absence, had a baby named Alys with an American man. Evelyn continues to teach art history and enjoy spending time with several female lovers.

Ulysses and Evelyn eventually find one another again, yet during the 40 years they are apart, the narrative focuses on Ulysses's life with his friends in London and his eventual move to Florence. Each character is richly drawn, making you laugh, cry, and cheer, as they navigate the highs and lows of the day-to-day and the occasional "big" event that affects them. While the bulk of the narrative focuses on everyday events, it still enchants and engrosses. Even when the setting switches to Florence, the lives of the new characters we meet and Ulysses's experiences (and those of Cress and Alys, who go with him) are engaging and enlightening.

When Ulysses and Evelyn meet up again, the story moves to its inevitable and thoroughly satisfying conclusion. I loved every part of this (big!) novel. The commentary on how art heals and reveals our humanity. How the true-to-life 1966 Flood of the Arno is described and how Ulysses and his friends navigate the damage and devastation. Evelyn's rich sapphic love life and her encounters with famous artists and writers, especially E.M. Forester. The charming A Room with a View homage that enhances the historical chronology.

All in all, this sweeping saga is a gloriously rendered historical fiction novel that enchants with vivid writing and a historical timeline that highlights some truly momentous occasions. Yet, it still makes quite a case for the beauty, humor, and heart of the quiet, day-to-day moments. Under the frozen, "perfect" image of a still-life painting, lies the "messy" components that went into making it...but even in them, there is beauty. Similarly, the major challenges and conflicts of life are underscored by the tedium and pattern of the everyday. And even in those, there is beauty.