Overall, what do you think of The Moment of Lift? No spoilers in this thread, please.

Overall, what do you think of The Moment of Lift? No spoilers in this thread, please.

Well written, very informative. Unfortunately, the little devil on my shoulder couldn't get past the fact that Melinda Gates is a very privileged woman. Yes, I know if she weren't privileged and probably if she weren't Melinda Gates, she wouldn't have gotten a contract to write this. Still...

I really liked this book and would recommend it to a friend. It personalizes gender bias facts that I think we sometimes try to overlook. Or maybe we'd like to think they existed in the past, not now. Tears sometimes fell as I read what Melinda wrote about the lives of women in other countries. And it helped me that Melinda acknowledged her privilege. Many women still struggle, more than she has, in the United States. The book left me with a sense of gratitude that Melinda Gates leads her life as she does, and helps to "lift" the lives of so many women.

Extremely interesting, I enjoyed reading the book. I am very much a fiction reader but I did want to read this book as I admire Bill and Melinda Gates.

I enjoyed the book - that surprised me. I did not like her first book and expected this one to be more of the same. It was a life outside of Melinda Gates and I really loved the way she did that. It seemed very sincere to me.

I appreciated the focus on explaining why the issues the Gates Foundation focuses on (e.g., educating girls) are important. The book didn't make me feel bad about my limited awareness/action, or act as propaganda for Melinda or the Foundation ("Look what great people we are, giving money to all these causes!"). It remained passionate but factual - an approach I felt worked really well.

I appreciate reading about the life Melinda Gates has undertaken to empower and “lift” women all over the world. I was unaware of the many areas in the world that she has visited and given assistance. I liked reading about her willingness to hear from the women, to share their stories, and see the successes along the way. The stories about the women are my favorite parts of the book. Appreciation for the improvements to their lives kept me moving through the chapters. A well written account of ambitious, positive change.

This book is great. They both (she and her husband) have wonderful ideas and their foundation helps so many. This is a book to read slowly not like fiction.

I would recommend it.

I enjoyed it and will recommend it to others. One appeal is that it is not just about office politics but includes other countries and issues women have that are different from America. There is no blanket answer to empowering women because there are so many aspects and different circumstances. One thing you do pick up from this is to "listen to women" to find out what they need and what the obstacles are to getting there.

I enjoyed the book. I liked how it gave us a window into their process of working with other cultures, learning what they need and helping them achieve that rather than coming in from outside and imposing outsider beliefs and practices.

I don’t think the title fit particularly well. I expected more focus on specific points in time when “lift” happened, and maybe something about how women can achieve lift in their own lives.

I have admired Melinda and Bill Gates for their work and this book helped me relate to them as people. They share the same ordinary life decisions we all do. The division of jobs and responsibilities all couples manage everyday. This book is even more relevant today in light of the Pandemic and it’s additional burdens of responsibility to home, family, work.
The book reinforces the need for women to keep working together louder, stronger and to be heard.

I am only half way through the book and am so impressed that I am changing my bookclub recommendation for the month to this book. I do not know much about what Melinda and Bill Gates have done and am glad this book is giving me such a good look into what they do.

I enjoyed the book as I really do like nonfiction. I learned more about her and her husband's foundation that I was not aware of. I also, hard as they were to read, learned a lot from reading about specific examples of what was happening to women in on foreign soils.

There is an enormous omission in Melinda Gates' book, and that is the absolutely fundamental necessity for women in developing countries to be literate. How can women control their own lives when they have to ask their husbands what is in a notice delivered by post or messssenger, about drug prescription directions, about street signs or bus numbers, where such are available, sacrificing their privacy in the process? How can they know for themselves the laws of the country that pertain to them? Given patterns of male dominance in Africa and other places, we cannot be so naive as to assume that husbands will inform their wives and daughters, particularly as better-informed women can pose a threat to entrenched traditional male dominance. Sustainable development cannot happen without literate women; grand-mothers, mothers and girls. Literacy is the first step on the road to female empowerment and emancipation. Without it women will be dependent on husbands and others. This is not freedom.

Very enlightening. Gave insights into gender bias (aka violence against women in some instances ) of all kinds that still exists in 3rd world countries and how it shows up similarly, but certainly less than, in ours. Enjoyed hearing personal tidbits of the Gates and the Foundation work.

Carolt, I'm with you. I particularly appreciated to combination of Gates's personal stories with stories "from the field," but that combination did point out in spades the disparity between Gates and the people the foundation serves.

Like many others, I have been aware of the Gates Foundation work for several years, starting when one of my daughter's college roommates was there because of a scholarship from them. Since then I knew that both Gates's have extended their work to many deprived countries and I am glad to have had the opportunity to learn more about those in Melinda's book. Years ago I have to admit I was somewhat suspicious hearing about these very privileged people making such contributions to people around the world, but since then I have made a point of listening to them speak and tell about their efforts in such a humble way. I find them both an inspiration in our sometimes selfish world.

It is an eye opening book. Both in the sense of Melinda Gate's strong religious background and career/life choices, and also the circumstances that so many women live in throughout the world. Melinda's privilege is acknowledged, but it also allows her to do what so many of us cannot do. The details about culture and laws that still affect so many women in the world was hard to read, but necessary to understand how far we have come and how much we still can help others.

I didn't expect to like it, but I did - very much. I tend to have a chip on my shoulder about the very rich, but I appreciated that Melinda owns up to that. The stories she chooses to tell are both uplifting and heartbreaking and the value of their work is so apparent.

At first, I thought I would never finish this book. Particularly since I started it during the capitol riots and during the inauguration.
After the inauguration, I was able to settle my thoughts and relax into the book. I loved it. Very inspirational. I will recommend it.

I want to like this book. It didn't read like propaganda, which is what I was expecting. Not a relaxing book, but a book to prompt action. I probably need a little more time to process my overall impressions.

I have admired Melinda from her very first interview. I waited for her VOICE. The Moment of Lift is her VOICE. Her learning curve regarding her relationships both personal and professional are heartwarming, genuine and humbling. I am sending my copy to my sister in Arizona!

I did find the book enlightening and was interested to learn more about the Gates foundation and what it actually does. At times though, I did feel it was repetitious. There were ideas that were introduced, developed, and then seemed to be repeated again. I did like the examples of women she met and how they changed her views but most people do not have the time or means to empower themselves the way she does. They can, however, change lives in meaningful if smaller ways.

Simply put, it was inspiring as well as informative.

I was surprised by the book. I knew something of the foundation and thought I was going to see a discussion about the eradication of diseases. I enjoyed the fact that there was a discussion regarding contraception, abortion and sharing work. It went far beyond my expectations. Throughout the book, I thought that Melinda Gates wrote like a tech person. I am convinced that the book was not ghostwritten.

This was an interesting book. So much information about the Foundation and about the people who run it. It is heartwarming to know that some very wealthy people are so willing to give back - or pay it forward - and lift others as well. She graciously points out that she could not have done this without the money from the Foundation.
There are many great points she makes throughout the book.
*Overcoming the need to create outsiders is our greatest challenge as human beings.
*Saving lives starts with bringing everyone in.
*Across cultures, the opposition to contraceptives shares an underlying hostility to women.
*Education determines who thrives.

I enjoyed it more than I thought it would. I loved learning about the Foundation and found a lot of inspiration in it.

This book was informative and inspiring, but in a productive way as opposed to being simply a tear-jerker. She effectively shows how many of the world problems (poverty, AIDS) can be traced back to inequality of women.

I think this is a very important book for our times when the disparity between the rich and the poor grows greater and greater. To trace the roots of this evolution to the holding of women down all over the world is a revelation. It is not an easy book to read but is filled with topics and points of view that will change the way I see the world. I will definitely offer it to my friends to read.

Melinda Gates comes through as a thoughtful, honest, caring woman who is using her wealth to do good in the world. Sharing the steps in her personal growth provided insight into the woman she is.

I wasn't crazy about the title and there were times I felt like I was reading a technical writer. However, bringing the facts and personal stories of women together in one place was eye-opening.

I have really enjoyed reading this book. I was so interested in her work in empowering women. The women in countries are reallly considered nothing. I felt so terrible reading some of their stories. Our book group just finished reading a book about women in India. Their stories very pretty much the same. Someone complained because her book would not have been published if she were not privileged. If that is what it takes to get people to read her book, it is fine with me.

Does it bother anyone else that there are NO footnotes or bibliography at all?
I’d like to see sources as to where she gets her wealth of facts!

Well written and engaging. I didn't know much about Bill and Melinda Gates as individual people, and the book provides interesting insights into their work and family relationship, personal individual goals and the development of quite a remarkable foundation. It was surprising to learn how much of a traditionalist Melinda was and how religious. It's an excellent account of how much she learned as she traveled and how she developed a deep understanding of the need to empower women as a critical step that benefits all sectors of society.