I thought I would like this book but it turns out that I LOVED it!
‘How to Think Like a Woman’ is published in two weeks (March 14) and I was fortunate to read an ARC. The book is somewhat memoir, biography, feminist history, a brief glimpse at philosophy by women and very much a story that resonates with me being a woman in academia. The book is about a former philosophy professor’s obstacles in the patriarchy. Regan Penaluna and I should really be BFFs. I was an undergrad ENG/ REL-PHI major and I even graduated from my doctoral program in 2007 so we’re about the same age and all the references to Goth music and clubs, I just know we are kindred spirits. Plus, she used the term “fuckedupedness.” There were times I laughed out loud and there were moments I wished I could pat her on the back or buy her a glass of wine.

In undergrad, she fell in love with philosophy and chose to become a self-determined person living a life of the mind. The Western philosophy canon includes misogyny and devaluation of women as intellectuals. Her journey helped her to discover how much of her thinking (and mine- eek!) derives from men and their work. Penaluna set out to find women philosophers! Her work in higher edu, her experience with her feedback from her dissertation committee, and her attempt to publish her dissertation was honest and painful because her story is so similar to many of our stories. She beautifully weaves in the biographies of Damaris Cudworth Masham, Mary Astell, Catherine Cockburn, and Mary Wollstonecraft in ways that made me want to immediately go read their own writing. I’m 100% going to recommend this book to my students and adopt it for my Literature by Women course.

This book is a marvelous, mind expanding romp of a book, that covered so many topics of interest in such a delightfully undisciplined way that I arrived at some kind of better understanding in the end than if it had been more what I would expect from a book that is at least partly a critique of philosophy ("Philosophy') as it has evolved (or not) from Socrates to today, as a white male bastion of calcified thinking where the issues and ideas and philosophical inquiries of those thinkers who don't fit the mold are categorically excluded from serious study. I guess you could call this book a work of inductive reasoning. It bombards one with anecdote. It travels far from the road of "I think therefore I am" type of argumentation. It's like a galloping horse running off into the wilderness. These are not criticisms. Regan Penaluna is trying to build something very new here and I found her willingness to unshackle her arguments from the rules of the past not only refreshing, but necessary.

How to Think Like a Woman does an excellent job of being informative and entertaining in one. I loved learning about these feminist philosophers, many of whom I had never heard of before. I also really enjoyed the combination of history and personal stories from Regan Penaluna — it made for an incredibly well-balanced book. I can't wait to pick up a physical copy!

Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for allowing me to listen to this audiobook early.

As a young woman who is in the STEM field, I related and loved this book so much. Regan Penaluna perfectly captures how we are still stuck in the same philosophical mindset as we were many years ago. After reading this story I plan on doing more research and reading into the women that were included in this book. From the history to the personal stories from Penaluna herself, this book provides a beautiful and realistic understanding of what it means to be free and have equity, not just equality. I deeply appreciate the added notes from Penaluna through out touching on LGBTQIA+ issues such as being non-binary in regards to these topics as well as the discussions of how race and racism plays into these topics.

This book was stunning and I can’t wait for the publication day to arrive so I can pick up a physical copy to read again and annotate.

I highly recommend everyone read this, it was stunning.

Regan Penaluna's "How to Think Like a Woman" is an insightful and thought-provoking work that aims to expand the reader's understanding of various philosophical views related to women and thought. The book covers a wide range of topics, including religion, gender, sex, and education, providing a comprehensive exploration of the subject matter. Throughout the text, Penaluna offers compelling arguments and examples that challenge traditional ways of thinking and encourage readers to adopt a more nuanced and complex perspective. Additionally, the author draws upon a diverse range of sources and perspectives, including feminist theory, post-colonial theory, and critical race theory, to create a rich and multifaceted exploration of the subject.

This is a great book for anyone looking to enter the world of women philosophers, or even for those interested in philosophy in general. It draws clear and heartbreaking similarities between the contemporary experience of a woman studying in a male-dominated field and the past century. This shows how little misconceptions about the value of women's thought have improved over time. However it is only a beginning and I suggest continuing to read about these great women.

The book is a great combination of informative content and personal experiences and self-discovery. The author expertly alternates chapters between these two planes, seamlessly transitioning from one to another, ultimately resulting in a cohesive and comprehensive work. The personal experiences and analysis add depth and insight to the informative content, providing a unique perspective that allows readers to fully immerse themselves in the content. The interweaving of these two elements creates a rich tapestry that enhances the reading experience and keeps readers engaged from start to finish. Overall, the combination of information and personal experience is a winning formula that makes this book a must-read for anyone interested in the topic.

Penaluna’s choice to combine memoir with a scholarly look at women’s contributions to the field of philosophy makes this very readable. The choice to move away from the more standard arm’s length discussion of the philosophers chosen for this book was a courageous choice and one that I enjoyed. Further, Penaluna chose to focus heavily on the biographical details of the lives of her subjects as well as their writings. This has been criticized, however with the boundaries that stood against philosophers who are not white, male and CIS the biographical details were important and built a more interesting narrative.

Penaluna is an honest and forthright narrator, she lets us in on not only successes and failures that lead to future success, but to her fears and falls. She finds her footing and kinship with these past philosophers and makes the philosophy come alive. I wish she had been one of my professors, I would have enjoyed philosophy much more with her insights and willingness to explore.

I’ve recently read some Mary Shelley, learning more about her mother Mary Wollstonecraft was an extra treat.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

How to Think Like a Woman by Regan Penaluna

This is a fascinating and thought-provoking nonfiction book about philosophy told from a woman’s perspective.

Penaluna is an academic that stumbled across the work of four historical feminist philosophers from the 17th and 18th century.

She provides a narrative to the stories of:
- Damaris Cudworth Masham
- Mary Astell
- Catherine Cockburn &
- Mary Wollstonecraft

All women, philosophers, thought leaders, mothers, confidantes, wives, lovers and women with passion for challenging the patriarchy and promoting women’s equality. All important feminist thinkers. Names that have no notoriety and little, if any, recognition for their place in feminist philosophical history.

This books interweaves Penaluna’s life experiences as an academic struggling against “the fuckedupedness of the patriarchy” (her words) and gives a voice to these feminist thinkers.

It’s partly biographical, partly memoir, and a total critique of philosophy from a woman’s perspective.

As Penaluna says in her author’s notes, the ancient Greek meaning of philosophy is the love of wisdom.

Reading this book reminded me of my love of learning new ways of thinking.

If you love to mix up your reading with some nonfiction and some feminist history, then you will really enjoy learning about these remarkable women.

I listened to this as an audiobook.

Thank you to Regan Penaluna, NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Photo credit: @wordswithmads


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This was an incredibly engaging and informative work. The author seamlessly blended the elements of memoir, biography, and critique. I was especially taken by how expertly she connected her experiences to the historical figures. It felt accessible despite not having a foundation in Philosophy and I came away with a few titles I'm excited to read to learn more about these women. The narration was also excellent!

Okay, I am so thankful to Grove Atlantic, Regan Penaluna, Netgalley, and Dreamscape Media for sending me a physical copy and audiobook access to this novel gem. It's no secret that women have been looked down upon for decades and even centuries of their being. In our places of work, our relationships, and just in general, women are objectified and derailed both metaphorically, physically, and emotionally, and we can't forget mentally. Internalized misogyny is one of the most profoundly tragic contagions in this lifetime. All it takes is one person to strike the match, sending flames soaring toward speaking ill towards women.

Author Regan Penaluna details the narratives of 4 female philosophers who stood up to the physical and symbolic barriers and defied their sexist stereotypes to add their knowledge to the arena.

This is an essential read for all women, and even men, especially those willing to beat down the stereotypes and archaic templates for how to be.

Despite not being a huge fan of philosophy, I really loved this book since it wasn't so much a book about philosophy as it was about philosophers, the subject of philosophy, and the lack of diversity in it.

There isn't a field in the present that hasn't had misogyny, racism, classism, and other forms of prejudice in its history, but when it comes to philosophy, it was fascinating to see how, despite the lack of any evidence, all these great philosophers were attempting to "prove" that women are inferior to men and that it is their "duty" to submit!

This book stood out to me in part because the author was fair in pointing out the areas were the female philosopher fell short and didn't try to make up for it by trying to make them into saints.

Also, despite the fact that this book is non-fiction, Penaluna has succeeded in telling the tale of these women in a narrative fashion, which elevates the quality of the work. and while Philosophy can be a dry subject to read or listen to, the author's creativity in combining her own personal life and all these women together has created a pleasant rhythm to keep the audience captivated.

Part memoir, part biography, part biting critique, Regan Penaluna's How to Think Like a Woman explores the lives and works of four, frequently overlooked, female philosophers. Penaluna reflects on the similarities between their lives and her experiences in academic philosophy.

As a women currently finishing my PhD (in Iowa no less), so much of this felt like a gut punch. Women, as writers and thinkers, have been sidelined in academic spaces so routinely or treated as a niche area of fringe interest, a feeling that Penaluna really captures. Losing herself to find a place in a system that repeatedly lets her down, she also neatly articulates how the ramifications Philosphy's treatment of female thinkers impacts women navigating these spaces today.

The text focuses on the biographies of Astell, Masham, Wollstonecraft and Cockburn, situating their thinking in the relevant historical framework. These women's stories serve as touchstones for Penaluna's own, reminding us that, while things have changed, maybe they haven't changed as much as we thought.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and to Netgalley for providing me with early access to the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Early in How to Think Like a Woman, Regan Penaluna ponders Nietzsche’s assertion—groundbreaking at the time—that all philosophers’ work is informed by their own personal experiences, their worldview, and ultimately their biases.

This book is an exercise in that notion. Penaluna threads her own journey of self doubt and rediscovery into the history of philosophical thought. She focuses throughout on the view of women by those considered great minds in the discipline, and—more compellingly—on the lives and opinions of four largely forgotten woman philosophers: Mary Astell, Damaris Masham, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Catharine Cockburn.

Penaluna deftly intertwines the biographies of these four women with pivotal moments in her own life, weaving a fascinating tapestry that showcases the continuity of women’s experiences in a patriarchal society.

Through the chapter on her own “Demons of Doubt,” she gives voice to the intrusive thoughts most women will find familiar, presenting a despondent side of the phrase “thinking like a woman.” But it’s not all bleak—Penaluna takes us along for the ride as she restores her own voice, her own thoughts, her own words. And perhaps that’s what thinking like a woman truly is: allowing your own thoughts and feelings to be heard.