Quiet Courage: Stories of Women Who Refused to Disappear

Every once in a while, I notice a quiet pattern in my reading — the kind that makes me pause and think, Wow… my subconscious is clearly obsessed with something. Recently, I realized that many of the books currently drawing me in share a powerful common thread: stories of women who were silenced, dismissed, punished, or quietly erased for being “too much,” “too different,” or simply unwilling to stay quiet. The status quo clearly does not like when women dare to stand up for themselves. Across so many different eras, you can find stories where fear shapes who is believed — and who is pushed aside. Time and again, women find themselves at the center of that fear.

I’ve always found that I understand history best through its emotional undercurrents — through the lived experiences of the people inside it. The books I’m sharing here don’t just tell us what happened; they let us feel what it was like to live through it. Some of these books are still on my nightstand, while others I read years ago—and they’ve stayed with me ever since.

Reader Spotlight: The Briar Club by Kate Quinn

First, I want to highlight a book I am completely engrossed in: The Briar Club by Kate Quinn. This McCarthy-era historical novel centers on the lives of seven women living in a boarding house in Washington, D.C.

From the very first pages, readers learn that a murder has occurred at the Briar Club. The house itself narrates the opening scene as detectives begin to collect evidence and speak with the women who live there. From that point on, the story shifts back three years and unfolds through the perspectives of the boarders themselves, revealing how their lives became intertwined long before the tragedy.

This novel explores a period marked by fear, suspicion, and deep social divisions. It is set during the Red Scare, a time when Americans were encouraged to report their neighbors as communists. Jewish communities were targeted, and racism and sexism were woven into everyday life. What a time to be alive!

What makes The Briar Club so powerful is how deeply human the characters feel. Kate Quinn has created women who are not only caught in the political and cultural storms of their time, but who also respond in relatable ways — with fear, hope, loyalty, love, and courage. With each chapter focusing on the inner world of the women, you really get a sense of the emotional toll their resistance cost them. The result is a richly layered story about friendship, survival, and women standing together and supporting one another.

Reader Spotlight: The Woman They Could Not Silence by Kate Moore

One of my all-time favorite books about strong women — and one of the most powerful works of narrative nonfiction I’ve ever read — is The Woman They Could Not Silence by Kate Moore.

Before diving in, I want to pause and acknowledge how far we’ve come in our understanding of mental health, and the important advocacy work that has helped move society away from institutions like the asylums portrayed in this book. In the 1860s, when this book takes place, mental illness was misunderstood, hidden, and too often treated as something to be punished. That said, I’d like to also point out that we still have a long, long way to go, but more on that later.

This true story follows Elizabeth Packard through her decades-long fight for freedom after being committed to an asylum by her husband for having religious beliefs and opinions with which he did not agree. Oh my! Once she was labeled as “mentally unfit,” Elizabeth was stripped of her rights, her voice, and her autonomy. She was imprisoned in a mental hospital for the crimes of reading too much and having her own ideas about things. The men who controlled her fate — from clergy to physicians — denied her basic humanity, essentially locking her up and throwing away the key. As I read her letters and diary entries, I couldn’t stop thinking about sheer terror I would feel if I were in her position—and the fact that this could have happened to me had I lived during that time.

Reading Elizabeth’s story is harrowing and unforgettable. As she outwits staff, attempts to escape, and is repeatedly returned to captivity, the reader is forced to confront how easily power, ego, and social norms were allowed to override compassion and truth. Basically, society was cool with it. It also struck me how clearly her imprisonment served the pride and authority of the men around her, and there was no genuine concern for her well-being.

The Woman They Could Not Silence is a chilling reminder of how society has historically responded to mental health struggles — not with care, but with fear, control, and exclusion. Amazingly, Elizabeth not only advocated for herself and gained her freedom, but dedicated her life to exposing the abuse running rampant in psychiatric hospitals and campaigning for reform. This important work continues today by groups like NAMI who promote understanding and reducing stigma around mental health issues. This is a subject I feel deeply passionate about and I’m inspired by Elizabeth’s courage and tenacity.

More Stories to Explore

Not every story on this list is about overt persecution. Some, like Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly, show a different but equally destructive form of injustice: erasure. I’ve always found this story incredible — the brilliant Black women Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden made it possible for NASA to send men to the moon, yet their contributions were largely invisible for decades. They worked in a time when women weren’t encouraged to be brilliant, and when Black women were often ignored altogether. Just thinking about how much they accomplished in the face of that invisibility blows me away.

Day after day, they showed extraordinary strength and quiet courage, facing both racism and sexism in order to do the work they loved and believed in. Their legacy continues to open doors for young women of all backgrounds to imagine themselves in STEM.

Another powerful story of courage I recently read is Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, a graphic memoir that shows what happens when the oppression of women becomes law. Satrapi reveals how quickly childhood can be stolen when a government controls what a girl can wear, say, or do. Set during the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Persepolis is a deeply personal look at how fear, control, and ideology reshape daily life — and how resilience can survive even in the smallest acts of defiance.

A Final Word

At first glance, this list of books might seem heavy — and there are certainly moments of sadness, anger, and grief woven through each of these stories. But the deeper thread running through them is not despair. It is courage.

Again and again, we meet women who refused to disappear, who held onto their voices in systems designed to silence them, and who stood up not only for themselves, but for those who would come after them.

Honestly, I can’t think of a better way to honor the women in these books than to really pay attention — to see, hear, and carry their stories with us.

If you’re interested in exploring more stories of the courage of women, you can find some excellent recommendations here! I’ve included a few books in a related area I’m interested in — stories of women escaping cults or high-demand cults and religions.

The Books!

1. The Briar Club, by Kate Quinn

In 1950s Washington, D.C., the women of Briarwood House form an unlikely found family under the quiet magic of weekly dinner parties — even as fear, secrets, and McCarthy-era suspicion swirl around them. When a shocking act of violence shatters their fragile refuge, the women must confront who among them is truly dangerous — and what loyalty really means in a time ruled by fear.

2. The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear, by Kate Moore

In 1860, Elizabeth Packard is committed to an insane asylum by her husband, threatened by her intellect and independence, where she discovers that many other rational women have been imprisoned simply for speaking their minds. Stripped of her rights and isolated by society, Elizabeth must find the courage to fight for her freedom—and in losing everything, discovers she has nothing left to lose.

3. Hidden Figures: the American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians who Helped Win the Space Race, by Margot Lee Shetterly

Starting in World War II and moving through to the Cold War, the civil rights movement, and the space race, [this book] follows the interwoven accounts of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden, four Black women who participated in some of NASA's greatest successes. It chronicles their careers over nearly three decades as they faced challenges, forged alliances, and used their intellect to change their own lives, and their country's future.

4. Persepolis: the Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi

Persepolis tells the coming-of-age story of Marjane Satrapi in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, a period marked by the Islamic Revolution, war with Iraq, and the overthrow of the Shah, all seen through the eyes of an intelligent, outspoken child. Through black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi captures the contradictions of daily life, the human cost of political upheaval, and the courage and humor it takes to grow up in extraordinary circumstances.

5. Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology, by Leah Remini

In this bold and deeply personal memoir, actress Leah Remini recounts her upbringing inside the Church of Scientology, her rise within its celebrity ranks, and the painful cost of daring to question its practices. After being declared a “Suppressive Person” and cut off from friends and family, Remini shares her courageous journey toward reclaiming her voice, freedom, and sense of self.

6. The True Happiness Company: How a Girl Like Me Falls for a Cult Like That, by Veena Dinavahi

In this gripping memoir, Veena Dinavahi recounts how a desperate search for help with her mental health led her into a controlling, cult-like community that promised “true happiness” — and slowly stripped her of her independence, instincts, and identity. With clarity and courage, she reflects on how she became trapped, how she broke free, and what it took to reclaim her voice and sense of self.

7. Year of Wonders, by Geraldine Brooks

In 1666, Anna comes of age in the small English village of Eyam as the plague tears through her community, leaving fear and superstition in its wake. Against extraordinary loss and social pressure, she shows quiet courage, making extraordinary choices that help her—and those around her—survive both the disease and the rigid judgments of her neighbors.

8. Blood Water Paint, by Joy McCullough

Blood Water Paint tells the true story of Renaissance painter Artemisia Gentileschi, a brilliant young artist who faces betrayal, violence, and a society determined to silence her. With fierce talent and relentless courage, she fights to claim her voice, her art, and her place in history against impossible odds.