Books by Bruins - Stories About Women

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ach month, this Books by Bruins series will feature a new collection of books by theme. In this issue, we’re highlighting books written about women, which include industry trailblazers, rom-com socialites and unsung heroines who have shaped the course of history. As this compilation of Bruin authors grows, we’re categorizing the books into an online library, but we’ll need your help to make it as comprehensive as possible. If you know of one, please submit a Bruin author. While all these books are written by UCLA alumni, inclusion in the list is not an endorsement.

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Bold & Brave: Ten Heroes Who Won Women the Right to Vote (2020)

Kirsten Gillibrand, J.D. ’91

On the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, United States Senator Kirsten Gillibrand shares the stories of 10 suffragists who fought for women's right to vote. “Bold & Brave” introduces children to strong women who have raised their voices on behalf of justice, and inspires them to raise their own voices to build our future. Senator Gillibrand of New York is a passionate advocate for women's rights. The New York Times bestselling author of “Off the Sidelines,” this is her first book for children. She is a graduate of UCLA School of Law.

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Lessons Learned: Stories from Women Leaders in STEM (2023)

Deborah Shlian, MBA ’88

Deborah Shlian is a physician, healthcare consultant and the author of fiction and nonfiction books including a best-selling medical mystery series written with her husband. “Stories from Women Leaders in STEM” is part of a series that showcases women who overcame the odds while paving the way for others. Shlian and her husband, Joel Shlian, also a physician, became the first couple to complete the UCLA MBA program together.

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We Are Inspiring: The Stories of 32 Inspirational Asian American Women (2019)

Angel Trazo, M.A. ’20

"We Are Inspiring" brings to life the stories of Asian American women from different communities. Trazo wrote the book with the goal of preventing the erasure of Asian Americans as an integral part of American history. Aimed at children ages 10 and over, the book covers 32 inspirational women including scientists, artists, actresses, comedians, judges and Olympians. Trazo is an author, illustrator and grad student based in the Bay Area. She holds a master's degree in Asian American Studies from UCLA. This is her debut children's book.

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The Assertive Woman: A New Look (1975)

Nancy Austin ’71, MBA ’77

“The Assertive Woman” debunks stale stereotypes of women bosses, stay-at-home moms and superwomen. Packed with personal vignettes, exercises, step-by-step procedures and tips, it became the first book of its kind in 1975, and has been updated and reprinted several times since then. Nancy Austin is a writer and business consultant. She received her MBA from UCLA where she was part of the team at the Neuropsychiatric Institute studying California’s community mental health system. Her books have sold approximately one million copies and have been published in seven languages.

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Trophies: A Novel (2008)

Heather Thomas ʼ80

Marion Zane is the top Trophy — she has it all: a faithful husband, loyal fellow-Trophy girlfriends, queen-bee status over the Hollywood "name-above-the-title" charities, and — best of all — no prenup! She knows inside information is king, smiles hide jealousy, jackals lure husbands away (or worse, steal personal assistants), housekeepers have the power to destroy and that everyone has devastating secrets — including her. Heather Thomas graduated from UCLA where she studied in the School of Theater, Film and Television. She starred as Jody Banks in TV's “The Fall Guy” from 1981 to 1986 and then left acting in 1998 to pursue writing.

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Pounders of Grain: A History of Women, Work, and Politics in Mozambique (2016)

Kathleen Sheldon, M.A. ’77, Ph.D. ’88

This history of women in Mozambique includes their contributions to the social and economic lives of their communities from the mid-19th century through the end of the 20th century. In her book, Sheldon emphasizes the centrality of women's choices and decisions. Kathleen Sheldon is an independent historian who is a research affiliate with the UCLA Center for the Study of Women. She received her Ph.D. in history from UCLA in 1988 and her M.A. in African Area studies in 1977. She has written several books on women in Africa.

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Before Amelia: Women Pilots in the Early Days of Aviation (2003)

Eileen (Fitzpatrick) Lebow ’47, M.A. ’49

“Before Amelia” is the remarkable story of the world's first female aviators who braved the skies during the early days of flight. Lebow looks at an international spectrum of pilots and their influence on each other. In an era when women's professional options were severely limited and the mere sight of ladies wearing pants caused a sensation, these women succeeded as pilots, flight instructors, airplane designers, stunt performers and promoters. Lebow taught in Maryland schools for 20 years before becoming an author of books on early aviation and education.

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The Women Who Made Early Disneyland: Artists, Entertainers, and Guest Relations (2024)

Kelsey Knox, M.L.I.S. ’14 and Cindy Mediavilla, M.L.S. ’77, Ph.D. ’00

This one-of-a-kind book examines the lives and achievements of the women who made early Disneyland. When Cindy Mediavilla attended a Disneyana convention held in 2015, she was surprised to learn about Ruth Shellhorn, a prominent post-war landscape architect who created the outdoor environment that became the original Disneyland park. Knox and Mediavilla – both lifelong Disney fans – found that as they researched Shellhorn and her work, there were countless women who were instrumental in building and operating what generations have known as, “the happiest place on earth.” Knox serves as the university archivist for UC Santa Cruz, while Mediavilla’s accolades include induction into the California Library Hall of Fame in 2022.

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Entry Lessons: The Stories of Women Fighting for Their Place, Their Children and Their Futures After Incarceration (2022)

Jorja Leap '78, M.S.W. ’80, Ph.D. ’88

Recent reports show that women make up the fastest-growing population within the United States’ criminal justice system. Now, through immersive storytelling and expert analysis of women’s lives after prison, anthropologist Jorja Leap explores their journeys into, through and beyond the jail cell. Jorja Leap is on the faculty of the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, where she also serves as the executive director of the UCLA Social Justice Research Partnership. Dr. Leap has been the recipient of the UCLA Distinguished Teaching Award. She is the author of the highly acclaimed books “Jumped In” and “Project Fatherhood.”

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Uta Barth: To Draw With Light (2012)

Uta Barth, M.F.A. ’85

Blind Spot Series publishes small-format, limited-run artist’s books that present a series of images from single bodies of work by important contemporary artist-photographers. Uta Barth’s stunning “To Draw With Light" features 46 color photographs alongside new works created specifically for the book. The Los Angeles–based contemporary artist has spent her decades-long career exploring the complexities and limits of human and mechanical vision.

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She Damn Near Ran the Studio: The Extraordinary Lives of Ida R. Koverman (2020)

Jacqueline R. Braitman ’79, M.A. ’81, Ph.D. ’88

Best known as the woman who ran MGM, Ida R. Koverman served as talent scout, mentor, executive secretary and confidant to American movie mogul Louis B. Mayer for 25 years. “She Damn Near Ran the Studio” is the first full account of Koverman's life and the true story of how she became a creative political powerhouse during Hollywood's Golden Era. Jacqueline R. Braitman is a historian of American history who specializes in California women and politics. She is coauthor of “Justice Stanley Mosk: A Life at the Center of California Politics and Justice.”

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Five Women of Byzantium (2020)

Robert Englekirk, M.S. ’65, Ph.D. ’70

The history of the pre-11th century Byzantine Empire presents the courageous, determined effort of the Byzantines to succeed. Women played a significant part in the evolution of mankind for they often saved mankind from disaster. Robert Englekirk has had a profound impact on civil infrastructure in California. His designs include the Getty Center, the Hollywood and Highland center and the tallest precast concrete building in California. He is an adjunct professor in civil engineering and has taught structural engineering at USC and UC San Diego. In 2015, he and his wife Natalie established the Englekirk Presidential Endowed Chair in Structural Engineering at UCLA.

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There's Cake in My Future (2012)

Kim Gruenenfelder ʼ89

After listening to her closest friends' latest travails in love, parenting and careers, superstitious bride-to-be Nicole believes she has the perfect recipe for everyone's happiness: a bridal shower "cake pull" in which each ribboned silver charm planted in her cake will bring its recipient the magical assistance she needs to change her destiny. Kim Gruenenfelder graduated from UCLA with a bachelor’s degree in women's history. In addition to her novels “A Total Waste of Makeup” and “Misery Loves Cabernet,” she has written feature films, episodic teleplays and two stage plays.

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The Ziegfelds' Girl: Confessions of an Abnormally Happy Childhood (1964)

Patricia Burke Ziegfeld Stephenson

Patricia Burke Ziegfeld Stephenson’s father, Florenz Ziegfeld, was the king of Broadway, producing an annual Follies featuring the cream of Broadway talent. Her mother, Billie Burke, is most remembered for her portrayal of Glinda the Good Witch of the North in the 1939 movie classic "The Wizard of Oz." "The Ziegfelds' Girl: Confessions of an Abnormally Happy Childhood," is the colorful backstage story of her adventures with her parents. 

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Brava: A Latina Lawyer’s Path to Empowerment (2023)

Adriana Palomares ʼ04

“Brava” is the inspirational story of a young Latina's coming-of-age journey as she searches for success and true happiness after she migrates to the United States from México. The book was the recipient of the 2024 International Latino Book Awards in two categories including the Isabel Allende Most Inspirational Fiction Book Award. Since publishing “Brava, A Latina Lawyer’s Path to Empowerment,” Adriana Palomares has presented at the Brilliance UCLA Alumnae Conference and other events including Latina Fest and the Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE) conference. 

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Heart Matters: A Memoir of a Female Heart Surgeon (2010)

Kathy E. Magliato, MBA ʼ06

Dr. Kathy Magliato is one of the few female heart surgeons practicing in the world today. She is also a member of an even more exclusive group — those surgeons specially trained to perform heart transplants. In this powerful and moving memoir, which inspired the NBC series “Heart Beat,” Dr. Magliato takes us into her highly demanding, physically intense, male-dominated world and shows us how she masterfully works to save patients' lives every day. She is currently on staff at Providence Saint John’s Medical Center in Santa Monica, California, where she developed a Multidisciplinary Women’s Health Center to address the cardiac needs of female patients. In 2006, she earned an Executive MBA at UCLA Anderson School of Business and received their Inspirational Alumni Award as part of the 75th anniversary of the school.

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Gertrude Stein and the Essence of What Happens (2005)

Dana Cairns Watson ’89, M.A. ’93, Ph.D. ’96

In “Gertrude Stein and the Essence of What Happens,” Dana Cairns Watson traces Stein's fascination with the cognitive and political ramifications of conversation. Watson shows how Stein’s use of silent reading and social speaking reveals the way reading and conversation build communities of meaning, to form personal relationships and the larger political structures we inhabit. Dana Cairns Watson has taught American literature and English composition at Middlebury College, Santa Monica College and UCLA. 

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Edith Heath: Philosophies (2021)

Jennifer M. Volland, M.A. '06, Cert. '03

“Edith Heath: Philosophies” is the definitive resource on Edith Kiertzner Heath and the history of Heath Ceramics, emphasizing the philosophical foundations and influences of the creative force. This publication offers an in-depth commentary on the presented themes of the environment, feminism, architecture and politics, while solidifying the relevance of Edith Heath's story in contemporary life and society. Jennifer M. Volland is an independent writer, curator, researcher and archivist. Her past work explores two architectural typologies: the cabin and the hotel as both author and curator.

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Runaway Girl: Escaping Life on the Streets (2013)

Carissa Phelps, MBA ’07, J.D. ’07

Phelps was a runaway by age 12, escaping a troubled and dangerous home life. She turned tragedy into triumph as she rose from runaway to holder of an MBA. and a law degree from UCLA. "When I was at UCLA Anderson, I planned to go into private equity," Phelps said. "I wanted to start a fund through local investing that would focus on costly social questions. But I stepped away, went back to Fresno, wrote the book and formed Runaway Girl in early 2012." Runaway Girl, a California for-profit entity with a "special" or social purpose, creates employment opportunities for former runaways and survivors of human trafficking. 

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Noushin, a Memoir: The Making of a Woman Architect (2022)

Noushin Ehsan, M.Arch. ’72

Noushin Ehsan, a licensed architect with over 35 years of international experience, founded Accessible Architecture, PC, where she developed the concept of “The Spirit of Space” which incorporates the spiritual as well as the practical approach to architecture. Ehsan promotes designs that create a positive energy in your space. She believes that through harmony, proportion, light, cohesiveness of thought in design and use of material, one can design holistic spaces that uplift the spirit and energize the physical being. This approach to holistic design has no relevance to the size and budget of your projects and can be adapted in any style. Ehsan received her master’s degree in architecture & urban design from UCLA.

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War, Women, and Power: From Violence to Mobilization in Rwanda and Bosnia-Herzegovina (2018)

Marie Berry, M.A. ’10, Ph.D. ’15

Rwanda and Bosnia both experienced mass violence in the early 1990s. Through close examination, Marie E. Berry unpacks the puzzling relationship between war and women's political mobilization. Dr. Berry is assistant professor of international comparative politics at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver. She was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers early in their careers.

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A Daughter's Journey: A Memoir (2024)

Susan M. (aka Susie Myung-Sook) Chung ’77, M.S.W. ’79 

Susan M. Chung, who has been described as "the 'Godzilla' of divorce attorneys in Silicon Valley," published her second autobiographical book, "A Daughter's Journey: A Memoir." The book "tells her accounts of courtroom dramas with golden threads of perspective and wisdom earned through decades of fighting, not only for justice, but her own personal struggles." Her first book, 2011's "A Mother's Journey — A Tale of Early Korean Settlers in Silver Lake," was a tribute to her mother, describing her family's arrival in Los Angeles and their significant role in the founding of Koreatown. Chung earned her bachelor's degree in sociology and her master's degree in social welfare from UCLA.

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Humanizing the Sacred: Sisters in Islam and the Struggle for Gender Justice in Malaysia (2015)

Azza Basarudin, Ph.D. ’09

Based on ethnographic research of Sisters in Islam (SIS), a nongovernmental organization of professional women promoting justice and equality, Basarudin examines SIS members' involvement in the production and transmission of Islamic knowledge to reformulate legal codes and reconceptualize gender discourses. By weaving together women's lived realities, feminist interpretations of Islamic texts and Malaysian cultural politics, this book illuminates how a localized struggle of claiming rights takes shape within a transnational landscape. Azzarina Basarudin is assistant professor in the Department of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies at CSULB. With a Ph.D. from UCLA in gender and sexuality studies, her research interests are transnational feminisms, gender and Islam, and intimacy and human rights politics. 

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Martha: The Life and Work of Martha Graham (1992)

Agnes De Mille ’26

Agnes De Mille was a close friend of choreographer Martha Graham for more than 60 years. Her book traces Graham's inspirations and pivotal moments. Graham developed a dance technique that has been called the "cornerstone" of American modern dance, based on the opposition between contraction and release, a concept based on the breathing cycle. Graham was famous for works including “Appalachian Spring,” “Ekstasis” and “Lamentations.” American choreographer, Agnes de Mille graduated from UCLA Cum Laude at age 19, having developed a love for great literature. As a choreographer, she was known for her storytelling, which is expressed in her works like “Rodeo,” “Oklahoma” and “Carousel.” 

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