Curated by journalist and activist Scarlett Curtis, this is something like having a girls night in with your new best friends discussing the meaning of ‘Feminism’. 

The essays are real and raw, funny and poignant, and the idea of framing them in five stages of feminism - Epiphany, Anger, Joy, Action and Education - adds to the rallying sentiment of the book. Incredible pieces have been created by the likes of a somewhat incomparable Nimko Ali OBE, Founder of The Five Foundation, a charity incredibly dear to us, and a woman who is a catalyst for real, tangible change in the fight against FGM. Essays by Jameela Jamil, Dr Alaa Murabit, Chimwemwe Chiweza, Amani Al-Khatahtbeh, Zoe Sugg, Lydia Wilson and Nimco are particular favourites to name a few, but each and every one is so moving and such a joyous collective. 

This is one to gift to anyone you know in need of a lift, a smile and a nudge forwards.

Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good by Adrienne Maree Brown

How do we make social justice the most pleasurable human experience? How can we awaken within ourselves desires that make it impossible to settle for anything less than a fulfilling life?

Author and editor Adrienne Maree Brown finds the answer in something she calls "pleasure activism," a politics of healing and happiness that explodes the dour myth that changing the world is just another form of work.

Drawing on the black feminist tradition, she challenges us to rethink the ground rules of activism. Her mindset-altering essays are interwoven with conversations and insights from other feminist thinkers, including Audre Lorde, Joan Morgan, Cara Page, Sonya Renee Taylor, and Alexis Pauline Gumbs. Together they cover a wide array of subjects--from sex work to climate change, from race and gender to sex and drugs--building new narratives about how politics can feel good and how what feels good always has a complex politics of its own.

Building on the success of her popular Emergent Strategy, brown launches a new series of the same name with this volume, bringing readers books that explore experimental, expansive, and innovative ways to meet the challenges that face our world today. Books that find the opportunity in every crisis!

Good Time To Be A Girl: Don’T Lean in, Change the System

HELENA MORRISSEY

If you have read Sheryl Sandberg’s ‘Lean In’, you might well have considered the subject of this a number of times. Since Sandberg’s shifting call to the workplace, things have shifted beyond belief, and yet we are still battling an outdated patriarchal system. So Morrisey, a previous City CEO, mother of nine, and founder of the 30% Club campaigning for gender-balanced UK company boards, has created something of a manifesto for a genuinely inclusive modern society that works for all and helps us all flourish. 

Gender equity is something dear to us at Coco de Mer. We know the benefit of a diverse, inclusive workplace that enables women to thrive at all stages, and Morrissey’s proposal had us nodding along at every page.

This is invaluable for every person wanting to progress in their careers and bring everyone along with them. 

Dr Emily Nagoski

This is gripping - delving into female desire and exploring how and why sexuality actually works, considering groundbreaking research on how brain science, biology and social factors each play a role in female arousal and orgasms.

Have you ever wondered why it has taken over a decade to develop the female equivalent of Viagra? We’ll give you a wild guess, but will leave Emily to explain things eloquently. But, as a result of this research, scientists have uncovered more about how women’s sexuality works than we ever thought possible, and this book goes into the most fascinating revelations. The most important factor? How you feel as a woman is so much more important for our sexual wellbeing than anything else. Knowing yourself, knowing how you respond to these factors, is a surefire way to enable better sex and more profound pleasure than ever imagined.

This book encourages a sense of confidence, curiosity, and a celebration of our unique self pleasure that is, unsurprisingly, something we fully support. 

More Than A Body: Your Body Is an Instrument, Not an Ornament

Lindsay Kite, PhD & Lexie Kite, PhD are identical twins and leading experts in the study of body image and the harmful effects of objectification. As co-directors of the nonprofit Beauty Redefined and More Than a Body, LLC, Lindsay and Lexie teach people how to develop body image resilience through their unique, research-backed framework. Since 2009, they have reached millions of people through online education, social media activism, speaking events, and their book, More Than a Body (HarperCollins, 2020).