inspirational women

One woman's journey through the dark netherworld of human trafficking.

Married at 19 to the 85-year-old Prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Rebecca Musser thought she was free after his death seven years later—until she was told she must remarry. So she escaped from her faith, family, and the only way of life she had ever known.

After writer Jennifer Tress' husband cheated on her (and blamed it on her looks!), she started a new lifenow she's changing other women's lives, too.

Women in Congress go to battle over rampant sexual assault in the military.

Christine Quinn wants to make history—as New York City's first female and first openly gay mayor. And now the colorful, take-no-prisoners pol is opening up in a revealing new memoir.

She's been called a liar, a traitor, a spy, and a hero. Cuban dissident Yoani Sánchez first caught the world's attention with — what else? — a blog.

On October 25, 2011, 32-year-old aid worker Jessica Buchanan and a Danish colleague were ambushed en route from a land mine awareness training program in southern Somalia and taken by pirates who had moved their ransom schemes from sea to land. Their price? $45 million. Here, she recounts the harrowing abduction that led to 93 days in captivity and a dramatic rescue by the elite U.S. Navy SEAL Team Six. Join our Google Hangout with Jessica on Wednesday, May 15 at 11:30 a.m. EST at plus.google.com/+marieclaire. Plus, submit your questions using #MCJB — they could be answered live!

Connections are currency in the nation's capital. So if you want to get in with D.C. power players, start with these in-the-know women.

Think your workday is stressful? Imagine leaping from 10 stories, hand-feeding sharks, or dismantling bombs. For these professional badasses, danger is just part of the job description.

Of the many players working behind the scenes for the president, few wield as much quiet power as Alyssa Mastromonaco, 37, the White House deputy chief of staff for operations — and the woman who sits some 15 feet away from him.

A 27-year-old acid attack victim in India desperately wanted to end her life — until she landed a spot on the country's hottest game show.

Big shots in Silicon Valley either launch billion-dollar companies or, as in the case of venture capitalist Theresia Gouw of Accel Partners, invest in them. (She was instrumental in her firm's early funding of Facebook — the most lucrative tech investment ever.) MC caught up with Gouw to find out her secrets for spotting a winner — and how to become one.

Meet the next generation of social activists — young, passionate, and powered by Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr, and you.

What happens when you lose an identical twin? Christa Parravani was 28 when her sister, Cara, died. Odds put her chances of meeting the same fate at 50 percent, and she started down a self-destructive path — until writing their story set her free.

Six years ago, a parachuting accident left extreme-sports daredevil Karina Hollekim near dead. Doctors said she'd never walk again, that her life as she knew it was over. But in the grueling years that followed, Hollekim had an epiphany: What if losing everything was the best thing that had ever happened to her?

Much has been said of Hillary Clinton (and little spared) during her two decades in the public eye. Now, as she prepares to step down as secretary of state, the most accomplished and, arguably, misunderstood woman in recent history insists she's done with public life for good. Ayelet Waldman joins Clinton on a tour of duty in Africa to find out if she means it.

Writer Jodi Jill tells her extraordinary story of being raised in a 10-by-20 storage unit, cut off from society and denied school — and how she finally found the strength to change her life.

In her debut novel, The People of Forever Are Not Afraid, Shani Boianjiu gives an inside glimpse at what it's like to come-of-age in the Israeli Defense Forces.