I won’t lie, I found this title to be a bit of a snooze. The narration was just ok, but the book itself felt repetitive and the org itself seems like a typical white feminist org that struggles to see outside of itself.

This book was kind of soul-crushing, TBH. It lays out the origin and evolution of the National Organization for Women, one of the first and the largest feminist organizations in the US. What started out with such energy and promise and vision was torn apart and minimized by infighting, like a lot of activist groups with good intentions. Making good the enemy of perfect, unwillingness to compromise or hear other people out, purity tests and judgementalism, "my way or the highway" thinking - all of the things that frustrate me to no end about almost every group I've tried to be a part of. No wonder progress is achieved at a snail's pace - or not at all.

So, I've been on this personal quest to fill in the gaps of my history knowledge, and my latest pick was "The Women of NOW." Honestly, I'm a bit sheepish to admit I didn't really know much about the National Organization for Women (NOW) before this. It's exactly why I'm on this history journey. The founding ladies of NOW? They were total trailblazers in the world of feminism. It's clear we owe a lot to them for the freedoms and rights we have today.

My Initial Worries
Heading into this book, I was kinda worried it would be all about feminism from the perspective of white women only. We all know that the full picture of feminism includes so much more, especially the crucial roles played by women of color and their ties with the Civil Rights movement. I was super relieved to see this book didn't shy away from those truths. It gave credit where credit's due and didn't gloss over the messy parts of merging different voices and needs within the movement.

What Stuck With Me
A bittersweet realization from the book is that even groups with the best intentions can stray from their core values, getting tangled in unexpected challenges. But there's a silver lining—seeing how NOW recognized when they were veering off course and made efforts to steer back. It's kind of uplifting and shows that growth and learning from mistakes is possible.
Founded back in 1966, NOW has been around the block a few times. They've faced their share of "growing pains," but rather than falling apart, they've adapted and grown stronger. Fifty-eight years on, and they're still out here fighting for women's rights everywhere.

Wrapping Up
"The Women of NOW" isn't just a history lesson; it's a reminder of the power of collective action and the importance of including all voices in the conversation. It made me reflect on how far we've come and the work that still lies ahead. Turk's research and Wetherell's narration made for a compelling combo that kept me engaged from start to finish.

An in-depth, well researched book on the founding members of NOW and the struggles of the time. I found it a bit bland with not as much personality of the women divulged. There are some anecdotes about the early meetings but much of the book felt like a litany of attendee lists and election results.
I enjoyed the discussions about racial and gender disparity discussions and how both activist groups sometimes worked together and sometimes stepped on each others toes.

The Women of Now, written by Katherine Turk, is an overview of the NOW movement. I did enjoy this book and feel I learned a lot from it, but I was overwhelmed by the book, and had some trouble following the characters. I think this would be a good book for someone who has already done research on this movement.

Wow, this was a ride. Before reading this book I knew extremely little about the history of NOW. In this book, Turk has crafted a detailed picture of NOW’s evolution. While I found this interesting, I think the best part of this book was learning about the tensions the different founding women had with each other. I also found it interesting to learn about the differing options these women had about key feminist issues in their day. For example, the diverging views on gendered newspaper ads.

I don’t see this book having a wide appeal but I think those who are interested in this specific niche will genuinely enjoy it. I would probably only recommend this to those who are interested in reading about feminism or have a specific association/ interest in NOW.

While I thought this was very interesting, I think I misunderstood going into it how specific/niche the history was going to be. I had thought it was a broader discussion on feminism but I still did quite enjoy hearing about NOW and it’s history!

The National Organization of Women was founded when I was in the midst of my college education. Women's roles in middle-class society had been clear and limiting to the increasing numbers of women entering the work force. NOW helped change the culture in which we find ourselves today, but the journey was not been an easy one; it was fraught with conflicts and characterized by strong leaders. Historian Katherine Turk's book, The Women of NOW, presents a detailed - too detailed at times - and fascinating look at the organization's growth by focusing on three of its early and important leaders: Patricia Hill Burnett, a wealthy Michigan Republican and former beauty queen; Aileen Hernandez, a union organizer, member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and consultant of Jamaican heritage; and Mary Jean Collins, a working class women from Wisconsin who spearheaded NOW's campaign against Sears for its labor practices that favored its male workers. Turk takes us through NOW's determination, its struggles to survive, its internal dissensions and its triumphs and failures. Thanks to NOW, many women today have more opportunities to succeed in their professional and personal lives, but many still face struggles of discrimination, poverty, and identity. That NOW still exists is a testament to its leaders. That it is no longer the predominant organization it once was is both a testament to its success, in that it inherently encouraged others to organize around specific issues and to build coalitions as needed, and its failures to advance those issues successfully over the last 50+ years. There is still a long road to travel to achieve NOW's original goals. Anyone interested in our society reaching those goals will be well advised to read/listen to this important book, which is aided greatly by Kimberly M. Wetherell's expert narration.

I am so thankful to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, and Katherine Turk for granting me advanced listener access to The Women of NOW which has been such a delight for me to partake in, especially since I am a woman of NOW. But it's been a joy to hear of those who have made such strides for the feminist movement then and now and going forward.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5

Wow, this was a ride. Before reading this book I knew extremely little about the history of NOW. In this book, Turk has crafted a detailed picture of NOW’s evolution. While I found this interesting, I think the best part of this book was learning about the tensions the different founding women had with each other. I also found it interesting to learn about the differing options these women had about key feminist issues in their day. For example, the diverging views on gendered newspaper ads.

I don’t see this book having a wide appeal but I think those who are interested in this specific niche will genuinely enjoy it. I would probably only recommend this to those who are interested in reading about feminism or have a specific association/ interest in NOW.

I enjoyed listening to this book--which is notable in itself because I am generally not an audiobook listener. I think it's because it felt more like listening to an informative podcast rather than a book or narrative. That being said, I really enjoyed the individual profiles/narratives of NOW leaders and players. For me, the most meaningful aspect of this book is the author's effort to include the stories and perspectives of non-white and non-heterosexual women. It feels important and right to acknowledge that although NOW was a pivotal moment in the struggle for women's rights/equality--it was still fraught with racism, classism, xenophobia, and homophobia. Learning the history of NOW has made me feel at once astonished at how far we've come AND aware of how much work still needs to be done in our society to achieve human equality. I would defo recommend this book!

Copied from Goodreads: 4⭐️ content but 2⭐️ presentation. An exceptionally well researched history of NOW. It covers the organization’s growth in incredible detail. Those details, however, create a dry portrait of the organization. My knowledge of NOW’s finances through the mid 1980s could enable an audit! Turk’s writing shines, though, when she discusses the backgrounds and motivations of some of the key organizers.

Many thanks to Macmillan Audio via NetGalley for an audio ARC of this text in exchange for an honest review.

This book was very well researched and the narrator was chosen perfectly. This book enraged me but also made me proud to be a woman! I love the way this book was divided up and the way that the chapters were put together. I would recommend this book to any kind of feminist the history was very entertaining to listen to.