3.75 stars
Palmieri's written an interesting follow-up to the Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments. As she writes, "The time has come for the women of America to make a new declaration. One hundred years after women won suffrage, we still live in a world where men hold the vast majority of power and women are consistently undervalued relative to them. Despite all women have done to fit in, and all that well-intended men have done to help us along the way, we have only been able to rise so far in this man's world. It is no longer serving us well. We should not continue to prop it up by following its rules. It is time to declare our independence and proclaim the start of an exciting new era for women—an era in which we break from a world that does not value us enough and create a place where we are able to reach our full potential."

It's a quick and relevant read and a call to action for women across the country. I thought it had several good reminders that I found useful and makes so many good points, about women and ambition, about our second-guessing ourselves, about how we're used to seeing men in leadership but not women and the impact that has on our view of women in leadership, and more. Recommend!

I had high hopes for this author and she delivered. Once again, we get a smart and incisive look at the future of politics--and it is female. Palmieri makes no bones about the ways in which women must engage politics for the future of the republic and for our own individual futures.

“She Proclaims” is fabulous. I loved it, and hope you will, too.

Before sitting down to read it, I wasn’t familiar with Jennifer Palmieri or her political background. But I’d heard about her #1 New York Times bestselling book, “Dear Madam President.”

Now that I’ve read She Proclaims, I totally want to hang out and befriend her. From one communications professional to another, Jennifer seems like an amazing mentor.

Sign me up. I’m on board.

This book is a call to action for women. It’s time to stop living in a man’s world. Instead, we need to take charge and redefine what equality needs to look like. Then we need to get ourselves there. For far too long, we’ve played a game designed for men by men. And guess who wins?

Despite our successes, our gender is clearly not there yet. So it’s our turn to rewrite the future.

Palmieri goes into detail in how we can do this. First, we must believe in ourselves. Then we need to support our sisters, regardless of age or race. (Um, hello to the 52% of white suburban women who voted for Trump in 2016).

“The history of the women’s rights movement shows that when women don’t back each other, women lose.” Even Madeleine Albright says “there’s a special place in hell for women who don’t support other women.”

I loved the quote Palmieri included in the “Souvenirs” chapter from the former NY Congresswoman, Shirley Chisholm: “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” It’s time to expect and demand better for ourselves. We have a lot to offer, and we need to realize our full potential.

“Working so hard to fit in over the years has given us quite an arsenal of adaptive skills—we’re great listeners, we’re solution-oriented, we handle disappointment well, we are resourceful, we have sky-high standards for ourselves, and we work our asses off. Just imagine all of the great things we can accomplish when women don’t just make the world run but are running the world.”

I highly recommend this book for women and men, especially young girls and professionals. Our time is now.

“Imagine what the little girls growing up in the world today will be able to achieve if we break the cycle of gender submission once and for all. That is the gift we can give ourselves and them—a future free of the biases that have held us back for so long. We can make the next important chapter of American history the one where women break with their old complacent ways and band together to finally realize the golden promise of equality.”


Special thanks to NetGalley, Jennifer Palmieri and Grand Central Publishing for an electronic copy in exchange for my honest review.

Though I enjoyed the sentiment and the information about the suffragists, this book felt very "look at me I'm a successful woman in Washington and all of you can be successful too". I lost count of how many times the author mentioned she worked in the Clinton and Obama White Houses. She also somehow managed to center the Monica Lewisnky scandal on herself and her guilt... that was the line for me.

Love the message, not a huge fan of how self-centered the delivery was.

Jennifer Palmieri is shattering the glass ceiling for women. Empowering women to say it out loud and declare what they deserve, this book is a must read for all - not just women. Celebrating the history and what women have accomplished in their fight for equality, Ms. Palmieri gives insights into her own journey. She Proclaims is an inspiring book for all women looking for their own empowerment and their own way. Thank you #netgalley for this advanced copy.

ALL women need to read this book! The author really focuses on how women can come out from behind the shadows of men and be successful. As women, we are trained not to "rock the boat", but the author shares insight from her own success, as well as from other influential women. This book is one that we shouldn't need in 2020, but sadly do, as women as still not treated the same as men in many situations.

I’ve been on a feminist lit kick lately and here’s my latest read. I read Palmieri’s first book, Dear Madame President, as soon as it came out and knew that I immediately had to get my hands on her newest. She Proclaims is truly a declaration of independence from a man’s world. 
 
Each chapter begins with a “proclamation” that rejects “truths” about women created by the patriarchy, for example: that only “a limited number of women can succeed in the world and that the professional advancement of women is a zero-sum game”. This book shows how recent trends are showing a vocal desire to “even out the power dynamic between men and women” and I can absolutely see that with the #MeToo movement, the 2017 Women’s March on Washington, and the amount of women attaining political office in the last few years. It’s so encouraging and honestly these are the things and events that made me take a deep dive into feminist lit a few years ago and use my voice for the betterment of women kind. If you are a female, you need to read this book. It’s short and quick read but it’s educational. As women, we need to be educating ourselves on historical examples of female empowerment.

The format of organizing each chapter with its own "declaration" is an innovative idea, if a little bit of a dry start, at times.

The author had some really interesting points, about women not bending to a mans world. At times, thought-provoking.

I did feel like I might, perhaps have missed something in my experince by not reading Jennifer Palmieri's previous book, Dear Madam President, first. I will likely go back and read that now.