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I love a good story about a woman who looked at something broken and decided to do something about it. These are the ones that stuck with me — missionaries, reformers, and ordinary women with extraordinary nerve, most of them running on faith.
Faith on the front lines
The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom. The ten Boom family hid Jews from the Nazis and paid for it. Corrie’s account of finding God even in a concentration camp is unforgettable.
Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot. Five missionaries killed by the people they came to serve — and the women who went back. Staggering.
Evidence Not Seen by Darlene Deibler Rose. A young missionary survives a WWII prison camp in New Guinea. Harrowing, and full of grace.
Reformers who would not quit
Fierce Convictions by Karen Swallow Prior. The story of Hannah More — poet, abolitionist, and reformer who fought slavery alongside Wilberforce.
The Autobiography of Coretta Scott King by Coretta Scott King. The civil-rights movement from the woman at its center — grounded, dignified, and deeply faith-rooted.
Ordinary women, extraordinary courage
A Chance to Die by Elisabeth Elliot. Elliot’s biography of Amy Carmichael, who rescued children from temple slavery in India for decades.
The Little Woman by Gladys Aylward. A London parlor maid becomes a missionary in China and leads a hundred children over the mountains to safety.
A last word
Different centuries, different battles — same courage. If you need a jolt of ‘one person can actually do something,’ start here.