Flair | Books every woman should read

It’s International Women’s Day.

To mark the occasion, Flair spoke with local, women-led book clubs about the titles they believe every woman should read at least once.

Here are their picks.

‘TEA BY THE SEA’ BY DONNA HEMANS

For Chapters Book Club Founder Jameika Johnson, the power of a story lies in its ability to reveal a woman’s innate strength. She recommends Donna Hemans’ Tea by the Sea, which follows a mother’s decade-long search for her daughter after being abandoned by a partner who stole their newborn.

“This novel would speak volumes to any woman because it teaches that a woman doesn’t need a man to save her and that her own resilience is enough to shoulder any burden,” Johnson told Flair. “It powerfully explores how emotional surrender, forgiveness, and vulnerability open the door to healing; how giving up the illusion of control can allow one to gain peace.”

Johnson also suggests Lorna Goodison’s poetry collection, Gardening in the Tropics, for those seeking poetic empowerment. She notes that poems like ‘Garden of the Woman Once Fallen’ and ‘Road of the Dread’ provide a “compass for women to be encouraged and brave amidst adversity”.

‘SOMEDAY, MAYBE’ BY ONYI NWABINELI

Friday Night Bookish Lyme’s Founder Shanique ‘Shanz the Book Fairy’ Sinclair highlights the necessity of vulnerability through Onyi Nwabineli’s Someday, Maybe. The novel explores the life of Eve as she navigates the heavy loss of her husband.

“Through her journey, we see what it truly means to allow ourselves to lean into the beauty [of] vulnerability and to trust others to help us through our pain,” Sinclair shared. “From this book, a woman can gain emotional resilience [and an] understanding that grief and pain are not setbacks but another way of finding growth”.

Sinclair says the book ultimately leaves readers with a renewed sense of self and the reassurance that “after heartbreak, there can be healing and even love again”.

‘YEAR OF YES’ BY SHONDA RHIMES

Meanwhile, Reneé Wallace, co-founder of the Novel Chicks book club, points to a non-fiction favourite: Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person by Shonda Rhimes. Though primarily a fiction reader, Wallace says that after reading the memoir, she dubbed 2025 her ‘Year of Yes’.

“I truly believe every woman can gain something from this book, especially the reminder of how powerful ‘yes’ can be,” Wallace said. “It’s about refusing to shrink yourself. It’s about choosing courage over comfort. It will especially resonate with the introverts, the overthinkers, and any woman who knows she’s meant for more but feels stuck in her comfort zone.”

For women who often second-guess themselves or hold back out of fear, she believes the message is especially timely, stating, “There is so much waiting for you on the other side of yes.”

Whether it is the poetic resilience of choosing to leave the past in the past, the quiet strength found in the depths of grief, or the radical act of saying “yes” to one’s own potential, these recommendations are reminders that literature is an excellent tool for empowerment. This International Women’s Day, the hope is that every woman finds a story that resonates with her own experience, providing the inspiration needed to take up the space she was always meant to occupy.

ruth-ann.briscoe@gleanerjm.com