In this collection of inspiring true stories, Janice McDonald — entrepreneur, speaker, and host of the Fearless Women podcast — brings together more than 75 extraordinary, unafraid women and asks them to look back at the moments in their youth that set them on the path to leadership. From high-profile entrepreneurs to philanthropists, athletes, artists, and states-people, the lives featured in this book represent the many journeys women can take to find their passion, create change, and make a monumental impact on the world around them.
Some were born to leap into the spotlight, others discovered a quiet strength along the way; women who dared, who challenged convention, who found connection, or who braved it alone — each has a powerful lesson to tell about a girl who once dreamed of what she might accomplish.
About the Author
Janice McDonald knows that small hinges swing big doors. As a global champion for women, she's been pushing for equity since 1992, when she completed her first graduate degree and wrote her thesis on women on boards in Canada. She is an award-winning entrepreneur, a four-time WXN Top 100 winner and 2016 WXN Hall of Fame inductee, a sought-after speaker, and the co-author of three ground-breaking studies on women entrepreneurs in Canada, released in 2016, 2018, and 2020. McDonald has a BA in communications, MA in Canadian studies, certification in conflict resolution from CICR, her ICD.D designation, and an MFA. Women in Trade Los Angeles awarded her Global Trade Ambassador for Canada in 2017, and in 2018 she received an Inspiring Fifty women in tech award. Her Fearless Women Podcast, which she launched on Women's Day 2019, shares many more incredible stories like the ones you will read in this book.
Industry Reviews
I had to say yes to new things. I had to take risks. I had to acquire the ability to manage through extreme pressure and to accept public scrutiny.
- Katie Telford, chief of staff to Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau.
Don't change yourself for anyone else. Pretty doesn't last. Popularity is transient. Being kind does not make you a pushover. Illness does not make you broken.
-Jody Thomas, first female commissioner of the Canadian Coast Guard in
If you can't break the glass ceiling, find a way to climb on top of it.
- Meena Roberts, management consultant providing governance, strategy, and policy advice to the Canadian government and the non-profit sector in Ottawa and India.
I am a fighter, even today. I vowed to be bigger and better than where I came from-I was not a product of my life experiences.
- Victoria Pelletier, corporate executive with a global Fortune 50 organization.
I believe, as has been said many times, that what didn't kill me has only made me stronger.
- Jennifer Harper, founder and CEO of Cheekbone Beauty Cosmetics Inc.
It was never the crowd I feared, it was not being accepted. And when I completely embraced who I was and owned my journey, it no longer mattered what anyone else thought.
- Zainab Muse, founder and CEO of Wingd Inc. and Creatorland.
