Everywoman: One Woman’s Truth About Speaking the Truth

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Or you might already know me as that gobby MP who has a tendency to shout about the stuff I care about. I will never be Jo, but having read Everywoman, I feel encouraged to be a more opinionated and courageous version of myself, unafraid to be authentic, ‘gobby’, disruptive and real. She also asserts that being the 'best woman for the job' is a nonsensical comment because no-one says that Jessica Ennis won 'girlie gold', a terrible analogy as women's sporting events only exist because the best women cannot compete with the best men.

Even if you don’t agree with Jess Phillips’ political views at all, this is an important book to read and I would highly recommend it. This was the first which I dreaded going back to because there were so many funny and wise things on each page that whittling them down into a review seemed impossible. Taking in chapters on motherhood, starting work, equality, politics and trolling, and more, she speaks about her own experiences and then places them within the context of (mainly women’s) general experiences. She was elected in 2015 and the outspoken, straight-talking former Women’s Aid business development manager has rarely been out of the press since.

As well as harrowing stories from her time at Women’s Aid on domestic abuse as further illustration of why she stands up for what she stands up for. Being an MP has given Phillips a platform, and if this book inspires just one teenager to switch from partying to politics, it will have been well used. Finance is provided by PayPal Credit (a trading name of PayPal UK Ltd, Whittaker House, Whittaker Avenue, Richmond-Upon-Thames, Surrey, United Kingdom, TW9 1EH). I attended one of Caitlin Moran’s Live tour dates on June 28th where no other than Jess herself was discussing Moran’s new publication and various taboo issues with brilliant clarity and once again that trademark honesty. She has worked with the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Communities and Local Government on issues of Violence Against Women and Girls.

While at times I disagreed with Jess on her views, at times felt the writing was a bit too forced into down to earth writing style, I can say that every person should read this book.Caitlin Moran wrote a book entitled "How To Be A Woman" which was also interesting, readable, funny, etc. Connecting Communities is an initiative aimed at empowering and strengthening community ties across the UK. Everywoman’ is part memoir, part feminist manifesto and is an unapologetic telling of how events in Phillips’ life has shaped her feminist beliefs and her politics. In the same month that labour politician Harriet Harman published the dry memoir A Woman’s Work, there comes a second by Jess Phillips, the Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley and the chair of the Women’s Parliamentary Labour Party.

It's an introduction to the life of Jess, a self help book for (aspiring) activists/campaigners/politicians and an analysis of sexism in politics written from the front. She speaks her mind (sometimes a little too much), but at heart, she seems to care about what she does, and genuinely wants to make a difference.

Damian Barr 'Everywoman has all the laughs [of Lena Dunham and Caitlin Moran] with a backbone of real glinting anger . I suspect Everywoman has been rushed out (misspellings such as Sheryl Sandberg’s name hint at that), but that’s my only niggle. Long before the age of Twitter, people strove to stop her campaign by sending anonymous letters and writing to the Daily Mail.

For Phillips, it was Bilocca's working class accent and the accessibility of her message that posed a threat. She seems genuine in her claims that she is always offering youngsters work experience, though she seems to see it as an entirely positive thing that her mother-in-law helps people she knows, because your career should be about how well-connected you are? I had wondered what her political stance on other issues was, and she rails against those who suggest that being a feminist leads you to be typecast. This is a plain speaking guide on how she got into politics and how she handles all the shit now she is there. Fortunately the book was not damaged but in my opinion the envelope used wasn't fit for purpose and appeared to be the cheapest one they could get away with using.An endorsement of the success of all female short lists and a critique of Labour party organisation that despite having some of the best women parliamentarians Labour have never had a female leader, while the conservatives with fewer women MPs have had two women Prime Ministers.