I’m so sorry Quarto, I forgot to download this book before it was archived, but it sounds truly wonderful and I’ll keep an eye out for it. I’m sure that there is warmth, wisdom and humour in its pages.

An excellent gathering of inspirational feminist speeches worthy of being read by all. Though I musT agree with many other reviewers, some speeches were difficult to read simply for the fact that they read as edited and tidied-up for the page.

This is a great read! This would also be a great gift for any young women graduating college and starting out in the real world. This is one that I would recommend for leadership or empowering sessions.

Yes!! This book is packed with very inspiring and powerful speeches and bits of wisdom from some of the most influential and important women today. I loved reading this and highly highly recommend it!!!

For anyone who likes to learn about women through history, to discover women who may have helped the women's rights movement, or inspired generations, this is a great read!

It introduces the women and then you can read the excerpt from their speeches, from Emmeline Pankhurst to Michelle Obama. I felt the book was slightly tainted by the addition of certain speeches - but especially the one by Margaret Thatcher, which, to my understanding, had nothing feminist about it.

I adore this collection of inspirational speeches. I read for the first time when I was in a bit of a mental funk and it managed to pull me out of my brain fog. I will revisit the text frequently - I ordered a physical copy of the book as soon as I can and now have dozens of place markers of my favourite passages. A must read!

This is such a gorgeous and inspiring book. Filled with speeches of hope and calls to action, with beautiful, powerful illustrations. A perfect gift - particularly for teens.

I lead a women's networking group at my University and also head up the women's book club, So Here I Am is the perfect book for me to read, I found it really motivational and inspirational reading all these womens speeches, past and present. A really uplifting and beautiful book, thank you Anna Russell for collating and thank you to the publishers for gifting us this beautiful book - and as always thank you to Netgalley for the review copy.

A wonderful inspiring gift for the young women in your life. This shows some of the most inspiring women through history in their own words and can be read all in one go or in smaller bitesize chunks.

Sorry I did not have time to review this book as I am in college and this is a pressured time of year.
I will keep an eye out for the book.

So Here I Am by Anna Russell is an inspirational collection of speeches from multiple suffragettes, activists, scientists, environmentalists, and women from around the world who spoke on politics, human rights and gender. This would be such a great gift to young women, especially high school students searching for the right role models. Each woman has a short biography, picture, and inspirational speech. This is such a great opportunity to show high school girls that there are important woman speeches in history not just the male ones we study in history books. There were women such as Sojourner Truth, Marie Curie, Elizabeth Candy Staton, Margaret Thatcher, Gloria Steinman, Indira Gandhi, Virginia Wolf, and many more.

“We often hear the question asked, “What shall we do?” Here is the opportunity for doing something now .....so that we may feel the satisfaction of having done what we could.” Angela Grimke

While this is an important collection of speeches, I found myself skimming through it rather quickly as many of these are very familiar and well known. I did, however, love the gorgeous artwork throughout the book.

While I liked So Here I Am, I didn't love it. I think what would've pushed me over the edge would have been longer excerpts since sometimes it felt like just as I was really getting into a speech, it ended! This does say something about the enduring quality of speeches that were included in the volume: most were inspiring, and many left me wanting more. I'd definitely recommend it as an introduction and encourage exploration on one's own after reading.

I received a digital ARC from the publisher via Netgalley.

A powerful beautifully composed book of outstanding speeches by brillant accomplished women. This should be recommend reading in all women's rights forums and classes. This is book to keep referring to for inspiration time and time again . I found it so inspiring . Within this brilliantly done book you will find speeches on subjects such as politics, science, human rights, historical discoveries, race, gender , media and women's rights. A must read for all women. Every parent should give this book to their daughters for their empowerment.
Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity. My opinion is my own. All women should read this book .

So Here I Am by Anna Russell is a roundup of over 50 famous speeches given by women, beginning with Queen Elizabeth I’s rousing proclamation to her armies in the face on the approaching Spanish Armada in 1588 and coming right up-to-date with Maya Lin’s 2018 SVA Commencement Address. There are some speeches you may be familiar with such as Emma Watson’s #HeForShe Campaign launch at the United Nations, and Michelle Obama’s speech to the 2016 Democratic National Convention, and many more you may well be unaware of like Angela Merkel’s 2009 speech to the US Congress or Victoria Woodhall’s 1871 speech on the Principals of Social Freedom.

Each entry in this book is accompanied by a short biography of the woman who gave the speech and original artwork by Camila Pinheiro. These biographies help to place the speeches in the context of their time and give the history of why they came to be made and recorded into the history books.

My one disappointment with the book is that the speeches are not given in their entirety and are only printed as short extracts that frequently take up only half a page each. While printing the speeches in full would, naturally, have meant either an unwieldy large book or fewer entries, I would have much preferred to have read them completely in multiple volumes than only being shown a snippet of what these women had to say.

This book is proof that despite the odds, women have never been afraid to speak out.

This book is a wonderful resource for anyone (and it should be just about all of us) who cares about women's voices and what women have to say. It was masterfully put together by Anna Russell and includes speeches (although often not the full speech) by women beginning with Elizabeth the First and going historically up through Hillary Clinton and Margaret Thatcher among others. Below are the names of just some of the women in this book; the range is enormous and you will find words of those you know and those whom you are hearing for the first time.

Sojourner Truth, Sarah Winnemucca, Ida B. Wells, Emmeline Pankhurst, Emma Goldman, Nancy Astor, Virginia Woolf, Margaret Sanger, Marie Curie, Helen Keller, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Eva Peron, Helen Keller, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Namomi Wolf, Wilma Mankiller, J.K. Rowling, Julia Gillard, Michelle Obama and Maya Lin.

The book opens with an excellent introduction which talks about the author's process in finding and selecting the entries. Along the way, she gives the reader an understanding of the importance of women's written words.

Each entry features biographical information, the speech, a full page quote and biographical illustrations of the orators. This book can be read in any order. It is a wonderful resource and would make an excellent addition to any young to older woman's bookshelf...to say nothing of men and boys' shelves too.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Quarto publishing for this excellent read. It is is not often that I go on to buy a book that I have been able to review as a galley but this time I will. I want to be able to spend more time with this formidable collection of women's wisdom.

So here we are, 2019. We know the suffragettes, we know jokes about 70's feminists burning their bras, and when asked to quote a woman we could probably rattle out "Ain't I a Woman?" even though Sojourner Truth never said it. Not exactly a great legacy for 150 so years worth of women's activism, right?

'So Here I Am: Speeches by Great Women to Empower and Inspire' by [Anna Russell aims to equal the balance. Drawing together some of the defining speeches by notable women of the last two centuries, touching on topics from gender equality, to race, LBGT+, civil and human rights, war, and science.

There is an obvious comparison to be made with 'Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls' and I would recommend 'So Here I Am' as a companion for it on your bookshelf. The language is a little denser, so maybe have it on <i>your</i> shelf, not the kids', but it does follow a very similar structure. Each entry includes a short biography of the speaker with some context of their speech, in e-book this was about a page worth, followed by an illustration (done by Camila Pinheiro) and an extracted version of the speech, again about an e-book's page worth of text.

Going into it I admit I was worried it might be a little 'white feminism's greatest hits', but Russell's choices for this compilation give a great view of the scope of women's activism, both in terms of diversity and their causes. Yes, there are the 'big names' like Michelle Obama, and J.K. Rowling, but there are also women you may have heard of but not known why they were influential, and others, like Wangari Maathai, that may be entirely new. In particular Victoria Woodull's speech struck me for it's relevancy. Her speech concerned 'free love', for contemporaries that meant that a relationship, particularly marriage, be easily dissolved, that the law should not get in the way of love. Even in that vaguest of summary I assume you can see the echoes of the equal marriage debate ongoing still.

The collection also diversifies as it follows a timeline of activism; it might start with Emmeline Pankhurst and Elizabeth I, but it goes on to include women such as Alicia Garza, Asmaa Mahfouz, Wilma Mankiller, and Sylvia Riveria. Further to that, in lieu of an epilogue there is a 'More Women to Inspire', encouraging the reader onto discover more women who fought for their cause but due to book space, or rights issues, didn't get an individual mention.

My only grievance is that where the speeches were excerpted, it sometimes felt as though they'd been edited down a bit too much. I know this may be the fault of various estates/licences/etc only allowing so much to be quoted but some of the speeches still felt sapped. A speech is inspiring not for some choice lines that can be easily quoted, or turned into snippets for the news; the power it builds in the body of the speech, the winding up, before delivering a proverbial knock-out punch. I know, I know, most if not all the included speeches can be found in-full online, and that this book is much more something to dip into for inspiration, or as an appetite wetter; but sometimes the cutting was too exacting and a speech seemed like reading the notes prepped for a Women’s Studies written exam.

'So Here I Am: Speeches by Great Women to Empower and Inspire' by Anna Russell is a fantastic compilation of outspoken women, and is a wonderful salve if you've ever rolled your eyes after seeing the same twenty men, and the same twenty speeches listed 'the greatest speeches in history'. Whether you have only just found a cause to champion or are a veteran, whether you want to know more female voices or just want some oratorical badasses on standby to empower you, I would heartily recommend making room on your bookshelf for this.

You cannot avoid being inspired by these collections of influential women, their various campaigns to make a difference and the content of speeches recorded and documented here.
That I knew so few of these individuals by name is to my shame and shows why such a book needs to be written. Yet this isn’t a book highlighting great oratory but a desire to find a speech that sums each person up, their struggle and how their words mirrored their deeds and aspirations.
Each person in this collection has a potted history, a tribute to them and we can read part of a famous speech. Adding to this colourful account are some wonderful illustrations which beautifully capture these women.

That further women are mentioned is due in part to the research undertaken, the demands on size and the lack of historical recordings of their words.

However, the author writes: “The speeches in SO HERE I AM are intended to inspire and empower, and it is my hope that they will leave you wanting much more. Look up some of the women ......
Read their stories,
Listen to their speeches on You Tube,
Follow them on Twitter,
and be energised by the impassioned orators.”

A work a great care and dedication. I felt a connection and a sense of pride that for many where silence was demanded these women would not be silent. When roles were defined these women did more and would not be quiet.
While the Father of two children, both girls I have never been prouder of their gender as when they have shown independence and freewill. I would encourage them to read these life stories and find their own role models around them.
My shame in not knowing of some of these women in this book is only matched by life experience and negative attitude at times, as a working man.

This issue is ever present, and this book sets the record straight without preaching or raising a feminine flag. It should appeal to all and in that spirit recommended that all.

This is an interesting collection of excerpts from the speeches of famous women through history. Each begins with an introduction to the person, putting the speech in context. For me, there was often so much information in the intro that there was little point in reading the speech, however. This will probably be an informative book for early teens, introducing them to important women and events in history in which they were influential, but most adults will already be aware of most of them. Having said that, the slight US bias allowed me to meet a few women that I’d never heard of before such as Sojourner Truth and Mary Church Terrell and I suspect I will keep dipping into this book for as long as it’s available to me.

With thanks to Quarto/White Lion and NetGalley for a free review copy.

This is so much more than a book-it is a reader’s companion- a journey of discovery with the most amazing women.
Thank you to both NetGalley and White Lion Publishing for my eARC in exchange for my honest unbiased review