Roar!

My excellent daughter-in-law recently lent me one of her favorite books titled Roar by the Irish writer Cecelia Ahern. It quickly became one of my favorites, too.

Published in 2019, Roar is a short story collection that is particularly timely with the 2024 election nearly upon us and with a woman at the top of the Democratic Presidential ticket.

We also have thousands of women from both major parties running for public office this November – at the local, state, and federal level — in South Carolina and the other 49 states. So, time to roar?

Each of the 30 stories in this collection is an imaginative fable that “explores the endless ways in which women blaze through adversity with wit, resourcefulness, and compassion.” It’s often funny, and sometimes outlandish, but the female reader will undoubtedly recognize her current or her past self in many of the pages. 

There’s “The Woman Who Slowly Disappeared” — gradually and then swiftly. After a while, hardly anyone noticed her at all, particularly after she turned 50. Does she eventually figure out that she is needed, relevant, useful, valid – and sexy? That she can take on new challenges; that she can contribute; that she is not finished yet? That she is here? Spoiler alert: yes!

Then there’s “The Woman Who Was Kept on the Shelf”. This odd situation began when her boyfriend – later husband – encouraged her to leave her job and sit on the shelf he built so that “everyone can see you, so that they can admire you, see what I see: the most beautiful woman in the world. You won’t have to lift a finger. You won’t have to do anything. Just sit on this shelf and be loved.” Hmmm. How she escapes from the shelf many years and several children later is empowering – and extremely enjoyable.

There is “The Woman Who Grew Wings” – and a taut spine – as she soars above her petty neighbors who disapprove of her religion and her abaya.

“The Woman Who Found Bite Marks on Her Skin” finally understands that these dozens of ugly marks are caused by: GUILT!! There’s never enough time to do everything that a working mother of three children must do. But she can learn to take time for herself.

In “The Woman Who Was Swallowed Up by the Floor and Who Met Lots of Other Women Down There, Too”, the woman learns how to survive a crucial business meeting after making a mortifying blunder. (So do all her companions in that dark hole under the floor who tell her their cringe-inducing stories.)

I could detail the other 25 stories in this darkly comic read, but you get the idea.

Ladies, it’s time to roar.