If spending this much time becoming deeply acquainted with these women’s work and reception has taught me one thing, it’s just how difficult and deeply disheartening it can be to be a woman in the public eye. All of these women are as imperfect as you or me, but when they say or do the wrong thing—or even say or do the right thing—the backlash can be swift, exacting, and cruel. To be an unruly woman in the public eye is to always be inviting criticism—and constantly fortifying yourself against it. Each woman in this book is a workaholic and a perfectionist, in part because anything less than
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