Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced reader copy. I am an Indigo Books and Music employee, this review is my own.

I greatly enjoyed First Lady of Iceland, Eliza Reid's examination of the ways in which Iceland is leading the way in gender equality with particular regard to parenthood. Through interviewing friends, colleagues, and citizens of Iceland she presents a case for why Iceland should be regarded as world leading in its attitude towards women and parenthood, and explains the actions it has taken to promote family building and job stability during a woman's pregnancy and parental leave. With a social welfare system that supports nuclear and single families through subsidising child care and providing excellent health care services Iceland has ensured its position as the country with the smallest gender gap in the world. Reid is relatable and entertaining in her anecdotes and freely shares her experience as a Canadian immigrant married to an Icelander with a family of four children.

I would recommend this book primarily to female readers and those interested in social/gender studies.

Thank you Simon & Schuster Canada and #NetGalley for giving me a copy of this book to read in exchange for my honest thoughts.

5 stars!

Eliza Reid, journalist and Canadian-born First Lady of Iceland, paints a love letter to her Iceland and presents nuanced discussions of Iceland's successes in striving for gender equality in this book. The author does not claim Iceland as having achieved perfect gender equality, and highlights ongoing issues in the country where there is a need for progress. Reid brings forth stories of diverse and inspiring Sprakkar (plural noun, an Icelandic word meaning extraordinary or outstanding women) to "share our success stories, learn from others how to improve areas that call for attention, and help everyone, not only women, strive to use their voices, their space" (p 236-237).

Oftentimes I take breaks when reading non-fiction, finding myself needing time and space away from the book to gather my thoughts and process the facts and ideas presented by the author. Reid's words flowed off of the page, rendering her book easy to breeze through without minimizing the importance or the complexity of her material - it was hard to put down and very well researched! I was fascinated to learn more about Iceland, and am inspired by the authors sentiment that while she is immensely proud of Iceland's example on gender equality, that she hopes to Iceland and countries around the world make further strides on gender equality. I loved the final message from the author that "Equality is my rights. It's yours too."

Another quote from the book that I wrote down while reading is from page 12 "Being aware of ongoing challenges is the first step in eliminating them, and it does not diminish the significant advances we have accomplished together." I sat with this sentiment for a while and think it is so important, especially in the face of ongoing challenges around the world.

I will be recommending this book to anyone who is interested in gender equality and learning about different countries!!

This insight into Icelandic life really made me want to move to Iceland and experience their culture. While Reid (and all the women she interviewed) try to be realistic about the myriad positives in Icelandic culture (gender equality, support for parents, free education, health care, etc), it's hard not to be a little jealous. It does make me curious as to why Iceland can accomplish so many positive things for their society and while other, more affluent but larger countries (I'm looking at you, USA) can't. There wasn't any real exploration of that (to be fair, that wasn't Reid's focus) but it's a question I'm interested to explore.

Reid's writing style is clear (she's originally Canadian, but has spend the last 20 years in Iceland - so her adopted cadence/inflection comes through in her writing - very charming). All of the interviews that she conducted were very interesting - a great variety of perspectives from women across many industries and walks-of-life in Iceland. I do think it could have used a tighter edit as some sections felt repetitive. But an usual book that I enjoyed reading. Definitely recommend if you're interested in looking at women in Icelandic culture!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a digital ARC.

Eliza Reid was raised just outside of Ottawa and is the sister of Iain Reid, author of two memoirs and two novels. She studied at Oxford and while there fell in love with a man from Iceland, where they eventually settled, marrying and having a family. When her husband was unexpectedly asked to run for Prime Minister and then won the position, Reid became first lady. This book is a love letter to her adopted country and more importantly a look at why Iceland has been ranked as the best place to be a woman for the last 12 years. Through a series of interviews with Sprakkar (extraordinary women) she looks at what works and what still needs to be done. This is a fascinating read and a great recommendation for anyone interested in the issue of gender equality (or Iceland) .

I've always had a love and appreciation for Iceland so I was happy to read Secrets of the Sprakkar, especially since First Lady Eliza Reid is from the same area of Canada as me. Having visited Iceland in 2012 I was able to visualize and corroborate a lot of what I felt after experiencing the island, it is a place that just feels like they have it figured out in so many ways. This book focuses on all the ways Iceland is one of the best places in the world to live if you’re a woman and I have no doubts about the claim.

Written from a point of view of someone who has immigrated to Iceland, the author has also lived there long enough to learn the language and immerse herself in the culture. Her love and admiration for Iceland feels genuine and sincere. Her status as an outsider also allows her to give a clearer picture of what life is like there for women of all walks of life, although her position of privilege is acknowledged.

Despite having a high rate of domestic violence particularly during Covid, Iceland can still claim to be friendly to women, and all its citizens for that matter, in a wide variety of ways. From cultural aspects of Iceland like how there is no stigma for single mothers and there is strong family/community support to government policy that supports new parents so that children have a nurturing upbringing in their most formative years which is a long-term investment for everyone. Women are also visible in all aspects of Icelandic life and not delegated to lesser roles.

Overall, I learned a lot from this book and found it to be an engaging read. Eliza Reid is humble, funny, self-deprecating and really knowledgeable about what she’s writing about. It also gives an interesting insight into what life is life for someone leading a normal life to suddenly find themselves married to a President and how life changes. I highly recommend this book for anyone regardless if you plan on visiting Iceland or not to see how life can be for better for everyone, although not perfect, this small island can teach us a lot.