We the Women

We the Women is a sweeping, story-driven history of America told through the lives of overlooked women who shaped the nation’s ideals and institutions from 1776 to today. Norah O’Donnell (with co-author Kate Andersen Brower) connects pivotal moments—from the American Revolution to women’s suffrage, civil rights, world wars, and modern legal and cultural breakthroughs—by following individual women who pushed against the limits of their era.

Rather than offering full biographies, the book presents tightly focused narrative profiles: a printer whose name appears on the Declaration of Independence broadside, an enslaved poet who influenced revolutionary ideals, an abolitionist network that fueled reform, pioneers who broke open medicine and law, wartime heroines denied recognition, and modern leaders who expanded education, labor protections, and civil rights. The through-line is clear: American democracy has always been unfinished—and women have been central to bending it toward justice.

• Listeners who want an accessible, narrative introduction to U.S. women’s history anchored in memorable true stories.
• Students, educators, and book clubs looking for a decade-by-decade “missing chapter” of American history.
• Anyone interested in how voting rights, civil rights, labor reforms, medicine, and wartime service evolved through real people and specific turning points.

Norah O’Donnell is a multiple Emmy Award–winning journalist and senior correspondent for CBS News. She has anchored major election coverage, served as anchor and managing editor of the CBS Evening News, and is a contributing correspondent for 60 Minutes. We the Women extends her long-running focus on amplifying women’s stories, developed with bestselling author Kate Andersen Brower.