You Have the Power: Find Your Strength and Believe You Can by the 2025 Euros Winning Captain of the Lionesses

by Leah Williamson, Suzanne Wrack

Join Leah Williamson, captain of the England women’s football team, as she shows you that you can be a leader at any age, and that huge things can happen when you believe in yourself!

In the summer of 2022 Leah led the Lionesses to victory in the European Championships – now she wants to show you that you can achieve anything you put your mind to, both on and off the pitch, no matter what other people say. This positive guide for life will inspire you to lead like a pro, and motivate you to do what you love.

Written with journalist Suzanne Wrack, You Have the Power is filled with stories from Leah’s own life and tons of brilliant advice, to show young girls how to find their strength and empower them to follow their dreams.

Genres: Football, Nonfiction, Biography, Soccer, Audiobook

145 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 30, 2023

About the author

Join Leah Williamson, captain of the England women’s football team, as she shows you that you can be a leader at any age, and that huge things can happen when you believe in yourself!

In the summer of 2022 Leah led the Lionesses to victory in the European Championships – now she wants to show you that you can achieve anything you put your mind to, both on and off the pitch, no matter what other people say. This positive guide for life will inspire you to lead like a pro, and motivate you to do what you love.

Written with journalist Suzanne Wrack, You Have the Power is filled with stories from Leah’s own life and tons of brilliant advice, to show young girls how to find their strength and empower them to follow their dreams.

Reviews

[Arissa Allyana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm definitely not part of the target audience this book is meant for but what a joy was it to read this. I wish I had this growing up as a kid, as a young female facing the days of adolescence.

Leah speaks from the heart, and she speaks of both her failures and her successes. She opens up about the start of her footballing journey (thank god she became a Gunner instead of playing for Spurs!), her first call-ups to Arsenal Women's senior team and England senior team, her anxiety and worries off and on the pitch, her mentality of losing and understanding failure is imminent, her success journey to the Euros 2022 as European Champions, her fight for inclusivity, representation and the acknowledgement of her privileges as a white woman, her admiration for the captains she has played with (I loved seeing that special mention to Kim Little - a vastly underrated player who deserves more recognition!) and everything in between. You could feel her sincerity in this book.

Also a special mention of Leah saying that accountancy is something that keeps her calm when she's injured and off the pitch. Wow! I'm an accountant and I've never felt so seen!

Anyway, it was an easy read for me but it had tenfold my respect and admiration for Leah. May she continue on this journey of using her voice, her platform, to inspire the next generation of young girls.

A memorable line from the book for me was "You can only control the controllables." Leah makes it very undoubtedly clear to the readers - that you're in control of improving yourself, of becoming a better version of yourself, of chasing the feeling of improvements simply because you have the power.

[Carly Mirr · Rating 5 out of 5]

i’m not in the age range for this book, but god damn i wish i had had something like it when i was a kid!

[Elle · Rating 5 out of 5]

this has helped me with managing my confidence in everything, this book proves why leah is the best captain for england.

[rih · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love leah

[Candela · Rating 5 out of 5]

First lf all… I am not the target of this book at all but I love Leah and the Lionesses so I decided to read it.

I was pleasantly surprised by this reading and I wish I had had a book like this in my hands a few years ago...

When you read this, you can definitely tell that Leah is a true leader, she has clear ideas and she conveys them very well in the book: she has a powerful voice and wants to use it to inspire the new generations.

~ “You can only control the controllables” ~

10/10!

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[liv mae x · Rating 3 out of 5]

idc if this was a kids book, i love leah.

[Carme Adell · Rating 5 out of 5]

i know she writed the book for younger girls than me, but i really loved reading this book. thanks to leah i discovered parts of my life that i have never understood before. i hope she knows she's helping a lot of people with her words. if i loved leah before reading it, i love her even more after the book

[Leigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wouldn’t say I’m in the target age range for this book however being a big fan of Leah i had to pick it up. A very wholesome book which will inspire lots of children.

[Helen Macklon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leah Williamson is my hero and this book will be great motivation for the next generation of footballers and supporters. Lovely read.

[Jess Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t realise this book was aimed at kids, but it’s by a Lioness so of course I’m going to read it. It’s nice and encouraging but doesn’t have much depth. If I’d have read this when I was 10, however, I would have loved it.

[molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

inspirational, perfect and a joyful read for any age range, not just the one it’s targeted at. this shows what a wonderful person our captain is.

[Alexis Fernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspired me. Idc if it’s a kids book i am a fucking kid and now I feel like I can accomplish anything I want to

[Frederique Van Gemert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love you Leah

[Jonas Verheecke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose this book because I needed a book for this assignment and my sister likes to read books about football players. She recommended this book to me because I also like football. Before I started reading the book I expected that the content of this book was about this players experiences in the football world. I enjoyed reading this book because it is a special experience to read about a players experiences and what they did in their life/ career. Something I also really liked was the quotes that were in the book, they are really inspiring. I like that in the end of the book there are 10 rules for believing in yourself. She also compares school with football, you make mistakes in both school and football. She says that you have to learn from the mistakes that you made and not keep thinking about these mistakes. I would recommend this book to other people, especially if you like sports or particularly like football. You can also read this book to keep believing you can do it if you want it.

[Heejung · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by the Lionesses captain Leah Williamson and The Guardian football writer Suzanne Wrack, this book aims to encourage young girls (9-12) to have the courage and confidence to find their dream , give it their best, not give up, and believe in themselves.
The book includes some stories of when Williamson was young and her struggles throughout her football career. Rather than that being the prominent point it is used to help children to consider different scenarios and provide useful tips. Eg what being a good leader is, how sometimes things get too overwhelming and getting counselling can help etc.
I would recommend this book for young girls aged anything from about 8 to 13 esp those who like football. It is an easy read while lots of good food for thought

Yes I would have personally liked a full (auto) biography of Williamson but that's just me. And for football biographies the one by Alex Scott is great and another by Beth Mead.

[John Newcomb · Rating 3 out of 5]

There I was hoping to read Leah's struggles to get recognition to eventually turning professional and finally leading England to their first cup success since 1966.
All those things are kind of in it, but it is really a self help book for young girls telling them to be confident and strive for their own goals and that there is nothing that they cannot do.
I have learnt that excercising during a period does help the pain, which is not something I ever thought I would need to know, but I suspect is useful advice for the books target audience.
It also sort of reinforces my admiration for Leah and her acheivements. She rather plays down being one of the finest footballers of her generation.

[Rosie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not the target audience, but I do research girlhood, and specifically advice giving. This is genuinely very good and doesn’t shy away from giving girls reality. The message and tone is very much yes you can do anything, but there is going to be some big barriers and bumps in the road. It’s inclusion of puberty and periods is well handled and encourages girls to not be ashamed of their bodies, and the chapter on allyship introduces privilege in an accessible way for the age group. This is a book I’d give to any girls in my life, whether they’re interested in sport or not.

[stella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though I'm not in the age range of this book (mostly middle/early year of high school, according to google), I really found it helpful and inspirational. As a person who tends to struggle with anxiety, those simple "tips" and advice that are sometimes related to Leah's life, I think they made you/me feel less alone and understood. I truly recommend this book since it's not just football, but it can be contextualised everywhere, whether you're a school/university student, a sport-person, or just an "adult".

[Lea Leuteritz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm definitely not in the age range but since Leah is my favourite player, I had to read it.

I wish I had this as a kid who was struggling (and sometimes still is) with self-confidence. The book is really well written and helped me view myself and my achievements, no matter how tiny, in a much more positive way.

[Tilly Long]

Okay so this book is not written for my age range, I picked it up as a contender for my A-level English coursework, making it very difficult to rate. However it does make some good points, which are particularly relevant to its target age groups (7-13ish), such as the importance or confidence, dealing with stress, and attitudes towards women and girls in football/ sports/ PE.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

i pre-ordered this book immediately after it was announced by her. And this book is amazing. It‘s really helpful especially for me being part of the main audience. I think it can help me in the future, achieving my goals. Im not a footballer but a dancer and it still helped me a lot!

[Laura Butler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am very aware that I am not the target audience for this one... but as a teacher this is something I am going to make dam sure my students have access to. Because this is EVERYTHING I wish I could have read when growing up.

This woman, this team, they're changing lives.

[Rhaenyra's Ashes ⚱️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wished i had this book a few years ago it would have helped me a lot in school. I had just had to get this book because leah is my favorite soccer who introduced me to women's football. I would recomend this book to anyone i know.

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Obviously this is for younger children but I can imagine how amazing it is for the target audience. Genuinely inspiring and full of advice. Particularly enjoyed the notes on inclusivity and accountability. Really recommend for schools! If only we had something like this when I was younger.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75/5
Firstly, I am not the target of this book at all, but I love Leah and the Lionesses, so I decided to read it.
Secondly, Leah did not disappoint. The book was a combination of stories out of Leah's life and a motivational guide. I really enjoyed it and it really fitted her personality.

[Alyssa Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this a lot, a similar vibe and all round awesomeness to Kicking Goals Journal

[thebookishcath · Rating 5 out of 5]

Only started this book this afternoon 😂 I follow football and this book tells you how Leah got into football, she talks about being captain for England and everything. I loved this book for a few reasons the top 2 are I support England and Leah is my fave female footballer! Easy 5 stars!

[LivingLife · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m such a fan of football and especially women football and leah is one my of my favorite players and my favorite arsenal player, i listened to this as an audiobook and leah’s voice is great loved it

[Molly Rokins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read in an hour, great book and well written! Very bittersweet reflecting on my time playing football as a kid and looking at what kids today have access too that I didn’t, great book!

[Amelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this in a couple of hours. Don’t think I’m her target age range but enjoyed the book all the same, I think all ages can benefit from this book ❤️