NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF A WOMAN®
Q
& A
Nancy
Pelosi’s new
book details
her journey
“from the
kitchen to the
Congress”
POWER AROUND THE PLANET
What happens when Leymah Gbowee (left),
thousands of ordi- eventually resulted in the
nary Liberian women— ouster of Liberia’s cruel
Christians and Muslims dictator Charles Taylor
alike—decide to demand and the 2005 election of
an end to the bloody civil President Ellen Johnson
war that has claimed Sirleaf, Africa’s first elect-some 200,000 lives and visited ed female head of state. Producer
daily brutality on their families? Abigail Disney and director Gini
The answer is recounted in the in- Reticker have showcased the heal-spiring new documentary Pray the ing power of women’s solidarity
Devil Back to Hell. This remarkable and saved this extraordinary story
women’s peace movement, led by from obscurity. —Abigail Cuffey
Rock Royalty
AT 50 madonna still rules th e
charts. Her latest album,
Hard Candy, debuted at
Number One, And her single
“ 4 Minutes” became her
37th top- 10 hit, breaking a
record held by elvis presley .
Take that, Miley Cyrus!
THAT’S MADAM
SPEAKER TO YOU
In 2007 Nancy Pelosi made
history as the first female
Speaker of the U.S. House of
Representatives. Her new
book, Know Your Power: A
Message to America’s
Daughters, is half memoir, half
success manual for the 21st-
century woman.
Q: You say in your book that
the skills you honed as a
homemaker and mother of
five were the same ones you
needed in politics. How so?
A: Raising a family forced me
to be disciplined, diplomatic
and focused, and I brought
those qualities to Congress.
Also, having a family keeps
you concentrated on the
future, which is the biggest
inspiration in politics.
Q: What advice do you give
women who are trying to
achieve that elusive balance
between work and family?
A: I tell them, you can’t
control every aspect, so don’t
worry about not measuring up.
And know that if you succeed
in being a mother, you can
succeed in any arena. That’s a
key message of my book. I
want women to recognize the
value of their unique
experience. —Claire Leavitt
For the full interview, go to
www.lhj.com/pelosi. To win a
copy of her new book, see
details on page 115.
MILITARY MILESTONE
In June Lt. Gen. Ann Dunwoody became the first
woman to be nominated for the rank of general.
WHAT’S UP, DOC?
28 percent of all physicians today are women—
up from 8 percent in 1970.
PHOTOGRAPHS FROM TOP CORBIS MATT STYER OF EASTERN MENNONITE UNIVERSITY EVAN AGOSTINI/AP IMAGES COURTESY OF ANN DUNWOODY ISTOCK PHOTO
