Lady Tan’s Circle of Women, by Lisa See

Attention! Calling all women in STEM, and women who support their sisters in STEM! Lady Tan’s Circle of Women, by Lisa See, is without a doubt the best book I’ve read this summer. While I admit June-August is typically reserved for lighthearted reads under a bright sun and an iced coffee an arm’s length away, this piece of historical fiction broke my norm and captivated me from the first chapter.

The story follows Tan Yunxian from childhood through adulthood, and her unconventional exposure to traditional Chinese medicine. After losing her mother at a young age, Yunxian goes to live with her grandparents, both who practice varying disciplines of healing and medicine. They take a hands-on approach to her education by teaching her ways to assist women “below the girdle”. This exposure ignites a passion in Yunxian that she carries with her for the rest of her life, even at the behest of her in-laws. While her in-laws might be in agreement with Confucius that “an educated woman is a worthless woman”, there’s no denying Yunxian was centuries ahead of her time, as the practices she developed throughout the book are still in use over 500 years later.

Lady Tan’s Circle of Women gives a voice to the women history habitually forgets. It’s an exploration from girlhood through motherhood, in an endless ebb and flow between chaos and solitude. You’ll learn about Chinese medicine practices that still apply to women today, as well as traditional cultural practices like foot binding and bloodletting, all while centering women in conversations they’re all too frequently excluded from. I was especially entranced by the various representations of motherhood. One doesn’t need to give birth to hold the title of mother is such a refreshing perspective.