It’s that time of the year again to reach for your summer read list. Whilst jetting off and relaxing on a beach may not be an option this year, you can still bring that summer vibe home.

We have curated 8 empowering books that you must read this summer. Whether you’ve just started your career, seeking new opportunities or simply learning how to balance it all – this list has you covered!

This summer read list has been carefully selected based on the recommendations of some of the powerful women leaders featured on our In Conversations With Griselda Togobo series.

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1. Becoming, By Michelle Obama

In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites listeners into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her – from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work to her time spent at the world’s most famous address.

Recommended by Dr Sharon Watson, Top 50 Influential Women In Culture. You can watch Dr Sharon’s full interview here.

2. The Magic Of Thinking Big by David J Schwartz

Practical, empowering and hugely engaging, this book will not only inspire you, but it will also give you the tools to change your life for the better – starting from now.

Recommended by Shaa Wasmund MBE, Multi-Million-Pound Business Founder. You can watch Shaa’s full interview here.

3. How to win friends and influence people by Dale Carnegie

In How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale offers practical advice and techniques, in his exuberant and conversational style, for how to get out of a mental rut and make life more rewarding.

Recommended by Shaa Wasmund MBE, Multi-Million-Pound Business Founder. You can watch Shaa’s full interview here.

4. How to become a rainmaker by Jeffrey J. Fox

Rainmakers are the people who bring money into their organisations and this book is packed with hints and tips to pursue prospective customers and keep them.

Recommended by Lara Morgan – Award Winning Business Guru . You can watch Lara’s full interview here.

5. Demanding More: Why Diversity and Inclusion Don’t Happen and What You Can Do About It by Sheree Atcheson

Demanding More is THE diversity and inclusion book you need to read. Moving beyond HR speak, this book clearly explains what diversity and inclusion are and what it means in the everyday experience of millions of people, both at work and in life. Sheree Atcheson, Global Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Peakon and ex Monzo, draws on her experience as a young woman of colour in an overly white male tech environment; she lives and breathes the issues she writes about. In Demanding More, she calls out the lack of awareness around privilege, unchecked and unconscious biases and details what intersectionality does to feelings of discrimination and disadvantage.

You can watch Sheree Atcheson’s full interview here

6. Lost and Found: Finding Hope in the Detours of Life by Sarah Roberts Jakes

Sarah’s captivating story, unflinchingly honest and deeply vulnerable, is a vivid reminder that God can turn even the deepest pain into His perfection. More than a memoir, Lost and Found offers hope and encouragement. Perhaps you, like Sarah, find y

Recommended by Scarlett Allen-Horton, The Apprentice. You can watch Scarlett’s full interview here.

7. Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez

From government policy and medical research to technology, workplaces and the media. Invisible Women reveals how in a world built for and by men we are systematically ignoring half of the population, often with disastrous consequences. Caroline Criado Perez brings together for the first time an impressive range of case studies, stories and new research from across the world that illustrate the hidden ways in which women are forgotten and the profound impact this has on us all.

Recommended by Jacqueline de Rojas CBE, President TechUK. You can watch Jacqueline’s full interview here.

8. The Body Keeps the Score: Mind, Brain and Body in the Transformation of Trauma by Bessel A. van der Kolk

Neither talking nor drug therapies have proven entirely satisfactory. With stories of his own work and those of specialists around the globe, The Body Keeps the Score sheds new light on the routes away from trauma – which lie in the regulation and syncing of body and mind, using sport, drama, yoga, mindfulness, meditation and other routes to equilibrium.

Recommended by Charlotte Carroll – Award-Winning Film-Maker & Actress. You can watch Charlotte’s full interview here.

Let us know what you’ll be reading this summer by sharing in one of our Power Circles.

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