Gigi's Reviews > Females of Valor

Widad Akreyi consistently delivers stories readers won't find anywhere else. Charming and enchanting, Females of Valor tells the story of Vesta and the violence she, her children and her community suffered in 1003.

Vesta was a medieval Kurdish healer who lived in Miafarqin city with her two children Widad and Sigurd. One night she faced the wrath of el-Barr, a religious fanatic, a tyrant known for being involved in acts of annihilation. I read the book nonstop cover-to-cover. My heart was in my throat from the beginning. Vesta serves as a voice of hope for other rape survivors whose healing may be delayed or sometimes difficult to achieve.

Females of Valor allowed me to better place the Me-too movement in the historical context of gender discrimination and sexual abuse. I now understand the challenges women went through to preserve a degree of freedom to shape their professional lives.