Through their diverse experiences, educational backgrounds, and personal
interests, female authors bring unique perspectives to the
written word From issues as varied as health
activism to exploring life in the Victorian era,
these writers are creating insightful and compelling books
Here, in no particular order, are some women
writers penning dynamic non-fiction narratives.
Coming in at # 1 is Dr. Jaipreet
Virdi, a historian whose research focuses on the
ways medicine and technology impact the lived experiences
of disabled people. She is the author of
Hearing Happiness Deafness Cures in History which examines
the issue of deafness in American society and
the quest for a cure. The narrative also
explores her own experience with hearing loss at
the age of four, following a severe case
of meningitis.
Dr. Virdi has published articles on diagnostic technologies,
hearing aids, and the medicalization of deafness, with
some of her essays appearing in The Atlantic
and the New Internationalist. She is an assistant
professor in the history department at the University
of Delaware, where she teaches courses on health
activism and visual culture studies. Her Deaf History
Series on Twitter spotlights unfamiliar stories of deaf
and hard-of-hearing people technologies, and events.
At # 2 is Katrina Shawver, author of
Henry A Polish Swimmer's True Story of Friendship
from Auschwitz to America. The book explores her
relationship with Holocaust survivor Henry Zguda, and details
his time at Auschwitz and Buchenwald during World
War II D. Donovan of the Midwest Book
Review calls it a top must have acquisition
and it was named the winner of the
2018 Arizona Authors Association Literary Contest in the
category of Best Published Nonfiction.
Prior to penning the book, Shawver spent eleven
years as a columnist for the Arizona Republic.
She holds a bachelor of arts from the
University of Arizona in English and political science,
and her employment history includes stints in software
support, the paralegal profession, and tax preparation. As
of 2020, the author resides in Phoenix with
her husband.
In the # 3 spot is Helen Boyd,
a lecturer in gender studies at Lawrence University.
She graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree
in English and a master's in writing from
City College of New York. In her book,
My Husband Betty Love Sex, and Life With
A Crossdresser, she chronicles contemporary cross-dressing culture, relational
gender, and her own marriage to a trans
woman.
Boyd regularly gives interviews, guest lectures at universities,
and devotes time to corporate and government training
on trans identity and related issues. In 2011,
she appeared on Dan Savage's podcast Savage Lovecast,
and that same year, received the Fair Wisconsin
Community Activist Award. In 2016, Boyd attended a
roundtable hosted by the Office on Violence Against
Women in Washington DC.
Wrapping up the list at # 4 is
Mimi Matthews, author of The Pug Who Bit
Napoleon. The book is an examination of animal
stories from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, including
lawsuits and scandals. Matthews writes on all aspects
of the Victorian era, from art and etiquette
to fashion beauty feminism, and law.
The author's research and writing have been referenced
in such diverse web and print publications as
Smithsonian Magazine, The Paris Review, The Journal of
Civil War Medicine, and BUST. Her work is
frequently used in high school and college classrooms
as part of an English or history curriculum.
Matthews is also the USA Today-bestselling, award-winning author
of the historical romances The Lost Letter A
Holiday By Gaslight, and Gentleman Jim.