Wolfpack
Read in 17 min.
Listen in 21 min.
Learn the key ideas of the book by Abby Wambach

Wolfpack

Recognising women’s intrinsic strength

Upon retiring from competitive sport, Abby Wambach, champion of the US women's national football team, decided to devote herself to the empowerment of women. Her message is simple: to change the society we are currently living in, we must stop following the old rules, which are dominated by misogyny, anger, and frustration. WOLFPACK: How to Come Together, Unleash Our Power, and Change the Game, provides numerous tips aimed at unlocking every woman’s inherent potential. They range from developing self-awareness and recognising their talents, to the need to create a group – which the author refers to as a “pack” - that they can rely on and personally support. The first step in creating this change is to celebrate the success of other women as if it were your own, thus creating a team spirit capable of overcoming any obstacle.

Wolfpack
Read in 17 min.
Listen in 21 min.
IDEA CHIAVE 1/11

Women, like the pack of wolves that repopulated Yellowstone National Park and restored the ecosystem, can help heal society

In 2018, Abby Wambach, American national women's football team legend and Olympic champion, gave the commencement speech - the speech given by a celebrity to newly graduated students at their graduation ceremony - at Barnard College, a private women's college in New York, where they teach the liberal arts. The theme, as for any speech tasked with accompanying and encouraging young minds during their transition from youth to adulthood, was to define what makes life worth living, and how to obtain it.

Abby Wambach decided to focus her commencement speech on some themes particularly close to her heart, that went beyond sport: gender equality, the need for equal pay between genders, LGBTQ+ rights (an acronym that is used to collectively indicate the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex communities), and female leadership. What came out was a message to all of the women in the world: The United States of America finds itself at a point in which it is more divided than ever, due to injustice, white supremacy, misogyny, anger, and apathy, and to change the nation, we must do away with the old rules. 

According to Abby Wambach, all women belong to one single pack, just like wolves. The idea came to her while watching a documentary about the reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone National Park. In 1995, following a seven-year absence, a pack of wolves was reintroduced into this area. The decision was taken - not without some trepidation – as a means to counteract the park's loss of vegetation. The lack of wolves in the area had, in fact, resulted in an exponential growth in the number of herbivores, especially deer, which, in turn, had caused a drastic reduction in vegetation, so much so that the banks of waterways were being eroded. The situation changed radically when the wolves reappeared, not so much because the number of deer subsequently decreased, but rather because their behaviour changed; in order to avoid predators, the deer stopped grazing in open areas, such as the  valleys, thus allowing the vegetation to grow back undisturbed. This triggered a chain reaction that allowed other animal species - such as beavers, otters, ravens, eagles, and bears - to also repopulate these areas. In summary, the entire ecosystem was regenerated simply as a result of reintroducing the animal at the top of the food chain.

Just like wolves, women today are mistakenly viewed as a threat, but they could actually be the saviours of our society.

  

The key ideas of "Wolfpack"

01.
Women, like the pack of wolves that repopulated Yellowstone National Park and restored the ecosystem, can help heal society
02.
A woman can only reach her full potential by creating her own path
03.
Finding a pack to belong to is essential to best express your personality
04.
Women must learn to support each other in order to create a solid team spirit
05.
A true leader also leads from the sidelines, because it is something that is in their blood. The important thing is to believe in yourself and in the group, putting your ego aside
06.
A leader acts with compassion, revealing their true self, even if that means appearing vulnerable
07.
Expressing one's talent without shame or fear inspires other women to do the same
08.
Failure is not something to be ashamed of; it is the fuel you need to achieve the ultimate victory
09.
It is not enough to just be grateful for one's success: a woman must expect to receive what she deserves, especially in terms of salary
10.
Quotes
11.
Take-home message
 
 
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