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4.47 AVERAGE
4.47 AVERAGE
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
informative
reflective
medium-paced
I read this just after reading Angela Merkel’s memoir. Very interesting to juxtapose. Two women in politics making and meeting giant challenges to their worlds and their roles. I’ve similarly felt the ‘woman in the room’ cast by desire or circumstance as the one confronting sexist patriarchal attitudes and norms. It’s all steps forward but oh so frustrating and hard and kind of disappointing from the inside. These two women are inspirations. Very important reads imho
informative
medium-paced
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
beautiful and inspiring, lots of emotion and heart
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Jacinda Ardern was New Zealand's 40th Prime Minister, the youngest female head of government at the time, and only the second to give birth while in office. A Different Kind of Power is her memoir.
I enjoyed learning more about her younger years and her reflections on how they contributed to her political career. Her reflections on the faith she was raised in but has since moved away from were especially nuanced. I appreciated her vulnerability - both about her own imposter system and her worries about how her job impacted her parenting, something I'm sure many women would relate to. As an aside the tale of her ultrasound and the way it was kept secret made for amusing reading. I also really enjoyed her reflections on the type of leader she wanted to be - the different kind of power referred to in the title - and being reminded of how this played out in pivotal moments like the Christchurch mosque shooting, the volcanic eruption on Whakaari, and of course during the Covid pandemic. Could we please have more leaders with her values wanting to exercise her type of power, please? Finally, it was great to get insight into her, at the time, surprising decision to resign. I listened on audio, and it was lovely to have Jacinda's voice in my ears again. Hearing her emotion in a couple of key spots added impact to the reading experience.
I did have a couple of minor quibbles. This was clearly written for an overseas audience, and while the explanation of common Māori terms and phrases didn't grate, the Americanisation of our school years did. My poor ears cringed at the use of the word "grades" when it should have been "forms". It's a shame publishers feel the need to cater to an international audience to such an extent. Surely, a clause saying "the equivalent of grade..." would have been more than sufficient? Personally, I would have loved a bit more inside gossip and spilling of tea from her years in parliament, but that's possibly an unrealistic expectation from a woman known for her class and kindness, and one that doesn't necessarily reflect well on me.
I enjoyed learning more about her younger years and her reflections on how they contributed to her political career. Her reflections on the faith she was raised in but has since moved away from were especially nuanced. I appreciated her vulnerability - both about her own imposter system and her worries about how her job impacted her parenting, something I'm sure many women would relate to. As an aside the tale of her ultrasound and the way it was kept secret made for amusing reading. I also really enjoyed her reflections on the type of leader she wanted to be - the different kind of power referred to in the title - and being reminded of how this played out in pivotal moments like the Christchurch mosque shooting, the volcanic eruption on Whakaari, and of course during the Covid pandemic. Could we please have more leaders with her values wanting to exercise her type of power, please? Finally, it was great to get insight into her, at the time, surprising decision to resign. I listened on audio, and it was lovely to have Jacinda's voice in my ears again. Hearing her emotion in a couple of key spots added impact to the reading experience.
I did have a couple of minor quibbles. This was clearly written for an overseas audience, and while the explanation of common Māori terms and phrases didn't grate, the Americanisation of our school years did. My poor ears cringed at the use of the word "grades" when it should have been "forms". It's a shame publishers feel the need to cater to an international audience to such an extent. Surely, a clause saying "the equivalent of grade..." would have been more than sufficient? Personally, I would have loved a bit more inside gossip and spilling of tea from her years in parliament, but that's possibly an unrealistic expectation from a woman known for her class and kindness, and one that doesn't necessarily reflect well on me.