Stronger : Changing Everything I Knew About Women’s Strength

A groundbreaking book about women's strength, inspired by author Poorna Bell's journey to get physically strong and the huge (and unexpected) ways in which it empowered her, gave her confidence and boosted her mental resilience.

Winner of the Sunday Times Sports Book Award

Stronger will change what you think you know about strength and, most importantly, empower you to go on your own journey to discover what strength looks like for you.

''This book gives us permission to establish a healthy relationship with our bodies and strength'' – Fearne Cotton, author of Happy

If you are the girl, the woman who feels like she is never enough, that she will never be as strong, as good, as capable, I am here to tell you that you are enough. You can write a different story.

Having gone from hating P.E. to becoming a powerlifter who can lift over twice her own bodyweight, Poorna Bell is perfectly placed to start a crucial conversation about women’s fitness – one that has nothing to do with weight loss. In Stronger, she shows how all of us can tap into our inner strength and find the confidence that physical pursuits can amplify – the confidence that has been helping men to succeed for centuries – and that women can find too.

In this updated edition with a new introduction, Poorna tells not only her own story but those of a range of women, investigating intersections of race, age and social background. Part memoir, part manifesto, Stronger explodes old-fashioned notions about getting strong and explores the relationship between mental and physical strength.

Whether you’re into weightlifting, running, swimming, yoga or don’t consider yourself to be sporty at all, Poorna shows how finding strength can work for you, regardless of age, ability or background.

‘A beautiful, inspiring book that will change the way you think about exercise. I only wish it had existed when I was younger.’ – Bryony Gordon