Girls

More about the book

We drove across America to talk with girls from diverse landscapes and backgrounds. Our journey took us through the Palouse of eastern Washington, along the San Antonio River, and to a brokerage firm in a Dallas skyscraper. We spoke with a sidesaddle rider, a Hmong girl who became a citizen, a blues-rock musician, ballerinas, surfers, an ice skater, and a girl who creates and plays with dolls. This book aims to capture both visually and verbally the extraordinary things that ordinary girls do, along with the drives and desires that motivate them. The collection features original photographs and life stories by sisters Jenny, Laura, and Martha McPhee, who understand the experience of being girls, having grown up in the sixties and seventies during the women's movement. They explore what it means to be a girl in America today, examining normal experiences, self-definition, individuality, and belonging. Over more than two years, they sought answers to these questions. Girls introduces a rich tapestry of extraordinary and "normal" girls pursuing their passions—poets, novelists, musicians, unicyclists, football players, philanthropists, and activists. Beautifully written by Jenny and Martha and illustrated with striking black-and-white images by Laura, this work reveals the astonishing scope of girls' lives today and the spirit with which future women will shape the world.