Take Back Your Brain: How a Sexist Society Gets in Your Head and How to Get It Out

Unf*ck Your Brain podcaster Loewentheil’s galvanizing debut urges readers to close the gap between “feminist beliefs about our worth” and the “patriarchal social conditioning” that constrains them. She picks apart sexist myths—for example, that women are poor money managers, overly emotional, or most worthy if sexually desirable—and explains how an attitude of “compassionate curiosity” can help women challenge such notions and rewire their own thinking. Readers can replace negative thoughts with more empowering ones by practicing “intermediate thoughts” to bridge the gap between the two (to get from “I hate my thighs” to “I love my thighs,” one might start by thinking, “My thighs don’t mean anything about me as a person”). Delving into body image, self esteem, love, and money, Loewentheil strikes a pragmatic tone, acknowledging that much of readers’ hard work lies in simply identifying the insidious social messaging they have been internalizing since childhood. Throughout, she takes care to account for the ways intersectional forces of race, body size, and economic status further complicate the issue. Women will be motivated to tackle the invisible barriers holding them back. Agent: Lynn Johnston, Lynn Johnston Literary. (May)