Local author Sharon Weeks was inspired to share inspiring stories and advice after seeing misunderstandings spread across the internet in 2016. (Submitted photo)

After the 2016 election and the Women’s March on Washington, local writer Sharon Weeks noticed many social media posts from women who didn’t understand what the march was about. They were talking about their “perfect” lives and “perfect” marriages, so why was there need for a march?

To that, Sharon said, “Do you have any idea what other women went through for you to get those things?” This is what drove her to write the article “What Young Women May Not Know” for the Leader-Telegram, which later led to the recent release of her book, What Young Women May Not Know: The Sequel.

She discussed all the things women endured to push for equal rights.

“People say that women were given the right to vote,” Weeks said, “and I say bullshit; they fought hard for it.” Within a week of the original article being published, there were more than 4,000 comments from all over the world.

Sharon printed the comments off and read through them with her daughter. Many of them were stories of people’s lives, their family’s lives, and what they had gone through. Weeks knew she couldn’t sit on these stories and this information and not share it. Thus, What Young Women May Not Know: The Sequel was written.

It includes here original article, the comments and stories inspired by the article, Weeks’ responses to the comments, and research and references about women’s affairs.

“When I started, it was basically to tell these young women that wanted these perfect lives how fragile that was,” Weeks said, “and how easily it could be lost and the people that suffered and died trying to get those rights.”

You can snag a copy of this book at The Local Store.