Alva Myrdal: A Daughter's Memoir

by Sissela Bok

Alva Myrdal (1902-1986), diplomat, feminist, and one of the founders of the Swedish welfare state, exemplifies in her extraordinary life the joys, the sorrows, and the achievements of women in our time. Her daughter shows us with unflinching candor how Myrdal struggled to attain in her private life the freedom and opportunity which she won for millions of other women.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography Memoir

410 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Sissela Bok (born Sissela Myrdal on 2 December 1934) is a Swedish-born American philosopher and ethicist, the daughter of two Nobel Prize winners: Gunnar Myrdal who won the Economics prize with Friedrich Hayek in 1974, and Alva Myrdal who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1982.

She received her B.A. and M.A. in psychology from George Washington University in 1957 and 1958, and her Ph.D. in philosophy from Harvard University in 1970. Formerly a Professor of Philosophy at Brandeis University, Sissela Bok is currently a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, Harvard School of Public Health.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for a college history seminar and I came out of it really liking Alva. She was really passionate about what she believed in and really made a difference in Sweden for the family, which is something that I can really see as lacking in America. It was interesting to learn about daily life in the Myrdal family from the point of view of the daughter, and it was fascinating that while Alva was out making a difference in the world, her own family life wasn't as ideal as everyone believed. I can't imagine being in her place and knowing that while I'm able to make a difference for others, at the same time it's so difficult to fulfill my dreams in my own life. It's rather heartbreaking, really.

[Jakki · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing true story of a woman WAY ahead of her times in the sense she wanted/believed in families, children and marriage but due to her own marriage was not able to live as she believed. An insecure husband who was jealous of any time Alva spent with their children, she made choices she regretted later. In spite of all - both Alva and her husband, Gunnar both were Noble Prize winners within their fields.

[Edmund Vale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading Alva Myrdal felt like sitting beside someone who lived at the intersection of idealism and hard reality. What stayed with me most was the way Myrdal’s life unfolded not as a series of triumphs, but as a steadfast commitment to peace, diplomacy, and human dignity.
Sissela Bok’s portrayal doesn’t romanticise its subject. Instead, it honours her complexity: her intellectual seriousness, her frustrations with political stubbornness, and her belief that moral clarity can even if slowly shape public life. What I appreciated most was how the book treats Myrdal’s work as a grained, sustained effort, not a series of dramatic moments. It reminded me that meaningful change rarely arrives in quick gestures, but through persistent thought and quiet perseverance.
Myrdal’s belief in dialogue and negotiation feels particularly resonant now. Reading her story made me reflect on the courage it takes to advocate for peace in a world that often prizes force and certainty. There’s patience and humility in her approach, but also a kind of unflinching steadiness that felt refreshing and necessary.
This is not a book for those seeking easy answers, but for readers who value thoughtful engagement with the world, and respect for those who choose principle over applause. It left me with a sense of admiration not only for Myrdal’s intellect, but for her willingness to persist when the world seemed inclined to look elsewhere.

[Viveka Strand · Rating 2 out of 5]

Det är intressant att läsa om Sissela Boks upplevelse av att växa upp med så kända föräldrar som Alva och Gunnar Myrdal, och diskrepansen mellan Alvas åsikter om barnuppfostran och hennes eget agerande. En stor del av boken ägnas åt att beskriva Alvas liv och yrkesgärning. Denna del saknar distans, är tyngd med mängder av citat utan mening och det hade bättre skrivits av någon utomstående eller kollega. Det är också märkligt att boken inte tar upp hennes tid som riksdagsman och statsråd, eller att hon tilldelades Nobels fredspris.

[Anna Lorentzon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good partial biography, written with great insight and sensitivity by her daughter. I appreciate the inclusion of her own experiences, something that can often obscure the main theme, but here added a lot to the full picture of Alva and the times. Not genius, but very decent and worth reading.

[Quratulain · Rating 5 out of 5]

ExGB

[Dorothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alva won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1982. In her elderly years her strokes left her without ability to communicate so her daughter took her diaries and pulled this book together. So far chapter 2 it is excellent.

So far Chapter 3 I find this book fascinating. I am also at the same time reading breaking the code. Breaking the code is written by a daughter about her dad while in WWII from his letters home. She keeps it a mystery what the code is and it keeps you reading and she relates it to who he is today at 80. Alva written about her mother based on her journals and talking to other and looking at the books her mother read.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

You can't write a credible biography simply by using letters your mother wrote you and nothing else.