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Womentality: Thirteen Empowering Stories by Everyday Women Who Said Goodbye to the Workplace and Hello to Their Lives
Thirteen stories by everyday women from around the globe who left the nine-to-five to start their own creative businesses and found far more fulfillment—plus more equitable pay—than in traditional corporate careers. Womentality shows how it is possible for anyone—no matter where they are from or their financial circumstances—to achieve success and happiness outside the office.
Womentality: Thirteen Empowering Stories by Everyday Women Who Said Goodbye to the Workplace and Hello to Their Lives is a collection of powerful, personal essays from enterprising women around the world who came to the same realization: work shouldn’t have to be painful and demeaning. Armed with an internet connection and plenty of creativity and ingenuity, they prove that it is possible to redefine the nine-to-five work paradigm and create a flourishing career that is flexible and fulfilling outside the corporate structure.
The thirteen women—from diverse countries such as Nigeria, Venezuela, Poland, Palestine, and the Philippines—approach independent work in different ways, but are all motivated by the same impulses—to escape the drudgery of office life, to have control of their time, and to enjoy the freedom of working for themselves. Importantly, many discover that—outside of the office—it is possible to triumph over global pay disparities that favor men.
Womentality is not a book about people who do not work—on the contrary, these women work hard and their stories illustrate how they overcame challenges to achieve their goals—whether they sought freedom to travel, to spend more time with the family, escape demeaning office politics, or simply to control their career.
The essays in Womentality prove that a life of independence is not reserved for elite, American workers. It is possible for anyone. As the women who contributed to Womentality can attest: escaping the nine-to-five life isn’t easy—it takes guts and persistence—but it’s absolutely worthwhile.
Womentality: Thirteen Empowering Stories by Everyday Women Who Said Goodbye to the Workplace and Hello to Their Lives is a collection of powerful, personal essays from enterprising women around the world who came to the same realization: work shouldn’t have to be painful and demeaning. Armed with an internet connection and plenty of creativity and ingenuity, they prove that it is possible to redefine the nine-to-five work paradigm and create a flourishing career that is flexible and fulfilling outside the corporate structure.
The thirteen women—from diverse countries such as Nigeria, Venezuela, Poland, Palestine, and the Philippines—approach independent work in different ways, but are all motivated by the same impulses—to escape the drudgery of office life, to have control of their time, and to enjoy the freedom of working for themselves. Importantly, many discover that—outside of the office—it is possible to triumph over global pay disparities that favor men.
Womentality is not a book about people who do not work—on the contrary, these women work hard and their stories illustrate how they overcame challenges to achieve their goals—whether they sought freedom to travel, to spend more time with the family, escape demeaning office politics, or simply to control their career.
The essays in Womentality prove that a life of independence is not reserved for elite, American workers. It is possible for anyone. As the women who contributed to Womentality can attest: escaping the nine-to-five life isn’t easy—it takes guts and persistence—but it’s absolutely worthwhile.
220 pages, Paperback
First published October 8, 2019
1 person is currently reading
300 people want to read
About the author
Erin Wildermuth
1 book1 followerErin Wildermuth is an economic philosopher, freelance writer, and travel vagabond with a Master’s Degree in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics. Her Master’s thesis concentrated on how the digital divide impacts global decision making and international labor markets. She has been intent upon shedding light on how global trends and technological advances can help people rise from economic exploitation into economic independence ever since. Her work has appeared in such diverse publications as the Huffington Post, American Spectator, and Scuba Diver Magazine.
Erin first left the nine to five in 2011, negotiating a part-time, remote arrangement with her employer. Within a year she had left her job to work full-time as a freelance underwater photographer, videographer and writer in Thailand. She lived in Asia for two years and has since returned to the United States, using her freelance income to return to school where she is studying regenerative medicine. She is the editor of Womentality, a collection of personal essays from women around the world who left corporate, full-time jobs to gain more control over their lives. Erin lives in Baltimore.
Erin first left the nine to five in 2011, negotiating a part-time, remote arrangement with her employer. Within a year she had left her job to work full-time as a freelance underwater photographer, videographer and writer in Thailand. She lived in Asia for two years and has since returned to the United States, using her freelance income to return to school where she is studying regenerative medicine. She is the editor of Womentality, a collection of personal essays from women around the world who left corporate, full-time jobs to gain more control over their lives. Erin lives in Baltimore.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
February 21, 2020
It was an average book, I feel like i wasn’t the targeted audience which made me not really enjoy the book as much or truly get into it. Overall it was an ok book but definitely not for anyone.
October 8, 2019
Womentality is a collection of 13 essays from women who have quit their office jobs to fulfill their passions and live life on their terms.
This essay collection is so inspiring. These are ordinary women from all walks of life around the globe who asked themselves, 'is this it?' and then did the work to change their circumstances so they're doing what they love and have the flexibility they need. Each essay gives background on that woman's situation, why the wanted a change, how they achieved it.
What I loved most about this book was they didn't sugar coat the struggles of making the change. It was hard for a really long time for a lot of them but they were determined and did ultimately achieve their goals. I also love that each story has tips, advice and bullet points on what changed in their lives. With such diversity of women, there is definitely at least one that everyone can relate to and find their input helpful.
As much as I enjoyed these essays, I did wish there was just a little bit more meat to them. It is a very condensed version of their life change and doesn't provide too much concrete direction. It just felt like a little something was missing from them.
Overall, It was a really empowering read and it made me want to see the places in my life that I could change to spend more time on my passions!
Thank you to Edelweiss+ and Ingram Publishing for an advanced digital copy of this book for my honest review.
This essay collection is so inspiring. These are ordinary women from all walks of life around the globe who asked themselves, 'is this it?' and then did the work to change their circumstances so they're doing what they love and have the flexibility they need. Each essay gives background on that woman's situation, why the wanted a change, how they achieved it.
What I loved most about this book was they didn't sugar coat the struggles of making the change. It was hard for a really long time for a lot of them but they were determined and did ultimately achieve their goals. I also love that each story has tips, advice and bullet points on what changed in their lives. With such diversity of women, there is definitely at least one that everyone can relate to and find their input helpful.
As much as I enjoyed these essays, I did wish there was just a little bit more meat to them. It is a very condensed version of their life change and doesn't provide too much concrete direction. It just felt like a little something was missing from them.
Overall, It was a really empowering read and it made me want to see the places in my life that I could change to spend more time on my passions!
Thank you to Edelweiss+ and Ingram Publishing for an advanced digital copy of this book for my honest review.
September 11, 2019
Womentality is a collection of 13 essays by women who have stepped out if the rat race to freelance or start their own business. Most of these women have found work that allows them the flexibility to spend more time with their family. #goals I am in the midst of doing the same thing myself so this book was very timely for my life.
Many women can find inspiration from these women's stories. The women in this book are from all over the world and from various walks of life. Most of them felt dissatisfaction in their corporate jobs and asked themselves "is this it? Is this what my life is going to be? Living for 5 PM? and living for the weekend?" I am sure many people have felt this way. I REALLY started to feel this way once I had kids.
The women in this book took advantage of the digital landscape to carve out their own path. They did things like remote digital design work, virtual assistant work, teaching english to foreign language speakers, blogging and more.
I rate the book 3.5 out of 5 stars. While the stories were inspiring I found that the book was missing a little something for me. Some of the stories seemed almost a little too vague...not that I wanted to get mired in the details. But, I suspect many readers would want at least a little more details as to how these women "made their own way." The difference between "I took some free online courses to strengthen my skills" and "I took some free online courses in web design, social media content generation and digital marketing". (paraphrased example) Sometimes people are looking for specifics with their inspiration so they can help figure out what their own personal next step should be. I did feel further inspired by the success stories of the women in this book, so it is a good read for women looking for that extra push to step out of the rat race.
I won a digital copy of this book from Our Shared Shelf via Edelweiss. Thank you!
Many women can find inspiration from these women's stories. The women in this book are from all over the world and from various walks of life. Most of them felt dissatisfaction in their corporate jobs and asked themselves "is this it? Is this what my life is going to be? Living for 5 PM? and living for the weekend?" I am sure many people have felt this way. I REALLY started to feel this way once I had kids.
The women in this book took advantage of the digital landscape to carve out their own path. They did things like remote digital design work, virtual assistant work, teaching english to foreign language speakers, blogging and more.
I rate the book 3.5 out of 5 stars. While the stories were inspiring I found that the book was missing a little something for me. Some of the stories seemed almost a little too vague...not that I wanted to get mired in the details. But, I suspect many readers would want at least a little more details as to how these women "made their own way." The difference between "I took some free online courses to strengthen my skills" and "I took some free online courses in web design, social media content generation and digital marketing". (paraphrased example) Sometimes people are looking for specifics with their inspiration so they can help figure out what their own personal next step should be. I did feel further inspired by the success stories of the women in this book, so it is a good read for women looking for that extra push to step out of the rat race.
I won a digital copy of this book from Our Shared Shelf via Edelweiss. Thank you!
August 12, 2019
Individually, these stories are incredibly inspiring. I really appreciated the honesty these women displayed and how willing they were to give advice to other women looking to make a change in their career paths. As a compilation though, something felt off. It's possible the subject was too broad to paint a cohesive picture. Nevertheless, it was still an interesting read.
Thank you to LibraryThing for an Advanced Reader Copy of this book.
Thank you to LibraryThing for an Advanced Reader Copy of this book.
August 15, 2019
I don’t think you all understand how damn happy I was when I received this book in the mail, can you say ecstatic? I read about it online and had the chance of signing up and requesting an ARC for the book; and just as the fates would have it, I got it. Lately I have been getting a lot of ARCs in the mail, so hopefully, I will have more content coming up soon.
This book isn’t a how-to-guide, or this worked for me, so maybe it will work for you type of book. Each woman in this book has a different, yet similar experience about their journey to working independently from home. They express their concerns, the pros, and the cons. The one common denominator they all had was in the advice that they shared. The work will be hard, the results won’t come right away, but it’s all worth it.
This book is a list of testimonials from a few women who have had success in leaving their 9-5s behind to pursue a bigger purpose. We all want to leave an impact on this world and we all want to make a name for ourselves. These women are mothers, daughters, friends, and leaders; who come from all walks of life, but with similar stories and passions. So far this book has been a fantastic read.
The only issue I had was the fact that the book is not organized. These women all come from different places in the world and have had different experiences. The only thing that truly connects them together is the fact that they all left work to work independently. The essays of these women felt rushed, to me.
While I loved reading each of their stories; I would have loved it more if it was one woman sharing her story. One woman reliving the experience all over again so we (the readers) can visualize and understand the transition between working for someone else and working for yourself.
The book will be published in October of this year and I received this copy for free for an honest review.
This book isn’t a how-to-guide, or this worked for me, so maybe it will work for you type of book. Each woman in this book has a different, yet similar experience about their journey to working independently from home. They express their concerns, the pros, and the cons. The one common denominator they all had was in the advice that they shared. The work will be hard, the results won’t come right away, but it’s all worth it.
This book is a list of testimonials from a few women who have had success in leaving their 9-5s behind to pursue a bigger purpose. We all want to leave an impact on this world and we all want to make a name for ourselves. These women are mothers, daughters, friends, and leaders; who come from all walks of life, but with similar stories and passions. So far this book has been a fantastic read.
The only issue I had was the fact that the book is not organized. These women all come from different places in the world and have had different experiences. The only thing that truly connects them together is the fact that they all left work to work independently. The essays of these women felt rushed, to me.
While I loved reading each of their stories; I would have loved it more if it was one woman sharing her story. One woman reliving the experience all over again so we (the readers) can visualize and understand the transition between working for someone else and working for yourself.
The book will be published in October of this year and I received this copy for free for an honest review.
November 17, 2019
Read even more book reviews at: https://www.lifeofafemalebibliophile....
Womentality is a book with a collection of essays from women around the world and their stories of leaving the traditional workforce of working 9 to 5pm. Each section is a different woman’s story and why they chose to shift to freelance work and how it has changed their lives. It also gives a glimpse of the workforce environment of the field they work in.
What I appreciated the most about this book is that the women come from different backgrounds and are diverse (profiles from a global perspective). Often I had read similar books such as this and they all seem to have the same voice or types of people and I appreciated the diversity. It was eye-opening to learn about women in the workforce in different parts of the world.
This book also offers some motivational and helpful career tips on finding what you want to do in life. It focuses on finding your passion and making money off something that you genuinely enjoy doing. Each essay was thoroughly engrossing while showing the many facets of freelancing. If you like books with essays about business or finding a career in freelancing, I’d recommend this read.
FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from LibraryThing in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Womentality is a book with a collection of essays from women around the world and their stories of leaving the traditional workforce of working 9 to 5pm. Each section is a different woman’s story and why they chose to shift to freelance work and how it has changed their lives. It also gives a glimpse of the workforce environment of the field they work in.
What I appreciated the most about this book is that the women come from different backgrounds and are diverse (profiles from a global perspective). Often I had read similar books such as this and they all seem to have the same voice or types of people and I appreciated the diversity. It was eye-opening to learn about women in the workforce in different parts of the world.
This book also offers some motivational and helpful career tips on finding what you want to do in life. It focuses on finding your passion and making money off something that you genuinely enjoy doing. Each essay was thoroughly engrossing while showing the many facets of freelancing. If you like books with essays about business or finding a career in freelancing, I’d recommend this read.
FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from LibraryThing in exchange for a fair and honest review.
July 25, 2019
This book, edited by Erin Wildermuth, made me want to move to another country....again. The collection of 13 short stories by women around the globe point to possibilities of meeting reality and dreams for women looking to buck the traditional 9-to-5, corporate lifestyle. The paths forged by these 13 women may not be the usual route society pushes us to follow, and that's what makes their stories all the more endearing to read. I really relate to the desire for freedom, flexibility and my life on my terms. Independence is the theme woven throughout these stories. Womentality is a quick, enjoyable read I would recommend for anyone looking for inspiration and courage to take a leap for a life change. Check out this book.
August 27, 2019
Womentality edited by Erin Wildermuth is a collection of personal essays from 13 women who have recreated their lives. From all over the world, these women were relatable and inspirational in a quiet way. Some chapters are motivational, some give advice, and some are idealistic. Many "stories" will touch home and you will find yourself thinking, "that's exactly how I feel". Each essay begins with a photo of the highlighted woman which helps to bring home that these are true, real-life people and experiences. I can't wait to share this book with my friends.
September 19, 2019
Book is set up as short stories from women all over the world telling their unique stories to freedom.
I love how each story is unique, open and raw. What is also great is that each story is specific in the changes they took and the resources they used to make those changes. This will definitely help others who may be in similar situations who are reading the book!
I love how each story is unique, open and raw. What is also great is that each story is specific in the changes they took and the resources they used to make those changes. This will definitely help others who may be in similar situations who are reading the book!
August 27, 2019
Women who quit the rat race share their stories on what spurred them, what they learned and what others could expect. The women come from all over the world. Great stories that really give a sneak preview on what it is like to not be tethered to a typical 9-to-5 job.
Thanks to the publisher for the review copy access.
Thanks to the publisher for the review copy access.
July 31, 2019
I have always wondered what it would be like to be my own boss, to be free of the 9 to 5 workday and work on my own time and terms. Reading about these 13 women from around the world who decided to take that risk and make their work more than just something that brings in money is truly inspiring. I loved how these stories talked about the struggles faced in the workplace, acknowledged the obstacles and uncertainty that comes with leaving office life and gave hope to those wondering if they should do the same. I especially liked the words of advice from each woman given throughout the book. Give this book a try!
August 26, 2021
There were a couple essays with good advice but most didn’t feel helpful for the average worker. Most of the authors of these essays already were highly educated or had flashy work experience before deciding to “work for themselves.” Most (not all, but most) also either had lots of savings to afford not working a 9-5 or had a spouse who could pay for their day-to-day bills. Especially when most of the essays boiled down to “just believe in yourself uwu” there felt like a disconnect between the privilege of the authors and the reader. The highlight of the collection were the last two essays which focused on practical advice for starting your own business and building confidence. However, it’s not worth the whole book just for those essays. I don’t recommend.
February 29, 2020
It was a great collection of women behind the book, but the book itself could have better formatted and better edited. I understand wanting to let each author's voice speak for themselves but maybe giving specific prompts and encouraging more depth would have been better?
The little snippets on the side and in the middle of the pages were VERY distracting and I didn't find them helpful. They took away from the story. The page spread was very distracting.
I appreciate the effort, I really appreciate the stories, I just wished the format and the depth of the content could have added more to the story making it richer.
The little snippets on the side and in the middle of the pages were VERY distracting and I didn't find them helpful. They took away from the story. The page spread was very distracting.
I appreciate the effort, I really appreciate the stories, I just wished the format and the depth of the content could have added more to the story making it richer.
January 14, 2025
I enjoyed this book very much. As others pointed out though, the author does gear the book towards a bit of a niche audience, but if you are a woman who is feeling drained from the 9-5 life and want more for yourself, this is the perfect book. This book gave me so much useful and insightful advice and I can't wait to take that advice with me towards my journey to success!
May 31, 2023
This a very interestign and inspriing cpllection of essays. Some I enjoyed more than others, but overall its a good read.
November 8, 2023
I enjoyed this read! It was inspiring to hear all of these stories.
September 15, 2024
Nice compilation of international experiences of women working for them selves. Not compelling but an interesting read!
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews