My name is: Brooke Baldwin.

My book is called: Huddle: How Women Unlock Their Collective Power (April 6, 2021).

My background before becoming an author was: I just celebrated 20 years as a journalist. I’ve been with CNN for more than a decade.

I was inspired to write it when: In the last handful of years, I saw so many women working together to lift their voices, support one another and make lasting change. They were doing this at a level I’d never seen in all my 20 years in journalism. But huddles don’t always make the headlines, so I wanted to amplify them. And I knew that giving this phenomenon a name would give it even more power. I also wanted to challenge myself to become a better huddler and encourage other women to do the same.

It's about: Huddle tells the stories of women of all ages, races and backgrounds from all walks of life—whether politics, sports, Hollywood, activism or everyday friendships—who know the power of leaning on each other to provide each other support, empowerment, inspiration and the strength to solve problems or enact meaningful change. It is also the story of my own journey (growing up in the South and then jumping into a male-dominated industry) of learning to become more intentional about huddling. 

The most unexpected takeaway is: Some of the most successful women out there are huddlers: Stacey Abrams, Meghan Rapinoe, Ava DuVernay, Reese Witherspoon—all in my book. Our culture likes to pit women against each other, especially highly successful women. There is this notion that there is only one seat at the table for a woman. So, in order to get there, you have to elbow your way to the top. But I say: fuck sharp elbows. What I found in my book is that some of the most successful, earthshaking, groundbreaking women are actually very collaborative. They are the kind of women who make space for other women, who uplift and amplify other women. If you want to be like highly successful women, you should huddle!

It’s a game changer because: Something as simple as a commitment to show up for your huddle can truly change your life. In doing research for this book, I learned how huddling can increase your salary, help you heal from trauma, raise your confidence, improve the outcomes of your activist coalition and it can even literally decrease your chances of getting diseases like cancer. Huddling is not just a warm and fuzzy idea; it’s a very powerful tool.

My hope is that readers will: I hope anyone reading this will come to see huddling as a mindset, and a very intentional practice. It’s something we can all do to invest in women, collectively. Instead of fighting for that one seat at the table, huddling is a way we can build a whole new table together—and make things better for women who come after us. And, truly, it’s just a lot of fun. There’s a lot of joy in huddling, and I hope readers will find that as they activate their own huddles. (Check out the epilogue for the “Huddle How-To”!)

In times of darkness, it’s important to bring light to each other because: We, as women, are each other’s most valuable resource. 

My next book might be: Ohhhh. A travel diary. Or Huddles… around the world!