No Stopping Us Now by Lucy Jane Bledsoe

$15.00

Description

“A timeless and triumphant story of courage in the face of opposition, as well as a glimpse into the early days of Title IX’s implementation. Knowledgeable about, and appreciative of, the trailblazers who fought for fairness and equal opportunities for women in sports, No Stopping Us Now is an excellent historical novel.” ―Foreword Reviews (Starred Review)

“The cause is just, the action absorbing, the sexist flack still all too familiar.” —Kirkus Reviews

A powerful, moving story about finding one’s own voice through the joys of sports, love, and the strength of sisterhood. Louisa loves to play basketball, but in 1974, her Portland, Oregon high school only offers a team for boys. An encounter with feminist Gloria Steinem teaches her about Title IX—the law that bans discrimination based on gender—so she asks her principal to start a girls team. Little does she know that she’ll soon be viciously targeted by male coaches at her school, lied to by the school board, and fall in love—a couple of times—as she fights for a fair chance to be an athlete. Based on the author’s true story, it is a compelling examination of the courage it takes to stand up for what’s right.


NO STOPPING US NOW by Lucy Jane Bledsoe

ISBN: 978-1953103208; Trade Paper Original; 266 pages; $15; April 26, 2022


High Praise for NO STOPPING US NOW

“So many young women athletes today grow up without understanding the importance of Title IX and how hard previous generations struggled for the opportunity to participate in the sports they loved. In writing No Stopping Us Now, Bledsoe not only informs and entertains, she directly connects young readers to an integral part of women’s sports history that should never be forgotten.” —Lyndsey D’Arcangelo

No Stopping Us Now reminds us of the battles fought, and won, by the first generation of Title IX athletes, those girls and women who made possible all of the opportunities female athletes have today. I guarantee you’ll be rooting for Louisa as she speaks truth to power and stands up to opponents on and off the court.” —Sue Macy, author, Breaking Through: How Female Athletes Shattered Stereotypes in the Roaring Twenties

“Lucy Bledsoe conjures up everyday sexism on the cusp of Title IX with powerful immediacy. From Shirley Chisholm and Gloria Steinem, to macrame and  hip-huggers, we are solidly in 1974. Yet there’s something absolutely contemporary in the way Bledsoe captures the perils, the highs, and the awkward, nonverbal jostling of high school social life. No Stopping Us Now takes a historic moment for women’s sports and replays it in all its sweaty, visceral glory.” Alison Bechdel, author, Fun Home and The Secret to Superhuman Strength 

“We cheer for Louisa as she speaks truth to power, has her eyes opened to feminist intersectionality, and shines on the basketball court. On the fiftieth anniversary of Title IX, this is an important and necessary book for young people, a poignant tribute to the women who demanded equality in athletics, and an inspiring call for a new generation to fight its own battles for justice.” —Andrew Maraniss, author of Inaugural Ballers: The True Story of the First U.S. Women’s Olympic Basketball Team

“It’s tempting to say that No Stopping Us Now transports us back to the intense battles teen girls faced in the early years of Title IX, except that similar battles rage on today. This timeless story is a must-read for adolescents trying to find themselves and their powerful voices both personally and politically.” —Sherry Boschert, author, 37 Words: Title IX and Fifty Years of Fighting Sex Discrimination

No Stopping Us Now is full of such heart, love and courage. A stunning and brave journey from start to finish, I loved Louisa and her bold crew of superstar athletes who rose up together to be seen, valued and heard. This is a book to be treasured, taught and shared. I want my children and students to know what it means to fight for what you believe in. To take up space, to raise your voice and most of all, to get on the court and play.” —Ellen Hagan, author, Don’t Call Me a Hurricane

“The characters are beautifully drawn, the story expertly plotted and moving and as a former D-I basketball player, it is close to my heart.” —Mary Volmer, author of Reliance, Illinois

“Fearlessly invokes a recent past we must become reacquainted with, the better to understand how far women have come and what’s at stake for our rights and opportunities.” —Bonnie J. Morris, women’s history professor and author of What’s The score? Twenty-Five Years of Teaching Women’s Sports History

Past Praise for Lucy Jane Bledsoe

“Is it possible for a novel to both break your heart and to heal it? Bledsoe is deft in the way she shows . . . various models of how to be a lesbian in the world.” —Lambda Literary Review

“Bledsoe injects life and dimension through her often stunning dialogue.” —Publishers Weekly

“Triumphs as an intimate and humane evocation of day-to-day life under inhumane circumstances.” ―New York Times Book Review

“Pound for pound, Bledsoe’s books are hard to beat.” —Kevin Killian


About the Author

Lucy Jane Bledsoe is the award-winning author of eight books of fiction, for both adults and young people, including Lava Falls, winner of the 2019 Devil’s Kitchen Fiction Award. Ms. Magazine called her novel The Evolution of Love, about how those who develop the muscles of compassion and inclusion will win the evolutionary lottery (in the long run), “fabulous feminist fiction.” The New York Times said her novel A Thin Bright Line “triumphs as an intimate and humane evocation of day-to-day life under inhumane circumstances.” Bledsoe’s fiction has won a California Arts Council Fellowship in Literature, an American Library Association Stonewall Award, the Arts & Letters Fiction Prize, a Pushcart nomination, a Yaddo Fellowship, and two National Science Foundation Artists & Writers Fellowships. Bledsoe loves basketball, mountains, cats, and books. She lives in Berkeley, CA.