Story

Nevertheless: The Resilience of the Modern Woman tells the stories of anything-but-ordinary women who have overcome the obstacles of contemporary gender norms and power relations to become leaders in their schools and fields.

Hi! My name is Jillian Giberson and I am the author of Nevertheless. Frankly, I never pictured myself writing a book. When I was presented with the opportunity to work with a program that supports first-time authors, especially university students, I thought, why not? What ensued was a rollercoaster of ups and downs, topic changes, and self doubt that eventually drove me to write what would become Nevertheless. It chronicles my experience of authoring my first book as a young female student and the complicated dynamics of gender relations in the 21st century. Throughout, I have included extraordinary stories of strength and perseverance of seemingly ordinary women who have confronted misogyny, harassment, and discrimination in their own respective fields.

My hope is that, in reading this book, you will be inspired by the stories of the remarkable women I have had the privilege of speaking with and learn how you too can and deserve to take up space. I want you to see this book as an opportunity to think deeper about contemporary gender norms. To think of times you have been made to feel weak or less-than and to affirm that you do deserve to take up space in your discipline and community. For men reading, I hope that this is only the beginning of an opportunity for you to help make space for female voices in your own fields. Above all, my goal is to give a voice to the survivor, the young activist, and the professional who has overcome innumerable obstacles in their career- the women whose stories would otherwise be left untold.

I wrote Nevertheless for young women who are the precipice of their academic or professional journeys, women who need to know that they deserve to take and make up space.

Ultimately, I hope that Nevertheless inspires reflection and fruitful dialogue, pressing into engaging questions like:

• How can I better take up space myself or help uplift female voices?
• How can we collectively support women through an intersectional lens, especially in fields lacking substantial female leadership?
• How can we challenge contemporary gender norms and power relations?

I cannot wait to continue this conversation and hear of my readers’ own experiences.

What We Need & What You Get

This book will be published with New Degree Press. I set up the pre-order tiers to help cover the costs of publishing. Money raised will go towards the following:

• The Editor I will work with to revise and publish my manuscript in December 2020.
• The Cover Design of the Book - the mockups you see currently are a placeholder
• The Layout Design for the interior of the book (Physical Copy, Ebook Formats)
• The Copyediting for the Book - to help polish the grammar and spelling prior to publication
• The Launch & Promotion Efforts for my book - when I ultimately publish this December

When I pre-sell 120 copies of my book, I will be able to publish it. When I pre-sell 150 copies of my book, I will also be able to publish an audiobook. And when I pre-sell 200 copies of my book, I will publish a hardcover edition.

For those who pre-order my book now, I will provide early access to the Introduction and additional sections of the manuscript, with the opportunity to give me early feedback! Your name will also appear in a Special, Acknowledgements section in the printed copy. Other additional rewards for preordering my book include: 

• A personally signed copy of my book when I publish
• A Personal, handwritten thank you note for pre-ordering my book
• The opportunity to help give me feedback and be involved in selecting my cover
• And more...

About the Author

Jillian Giberson is a recent graduate of McGill University where she studied political science and international development. She is currently completing her MSc at the London School of Economics in international relations. 

She is passionate about social justice and activism, particularly surrounding gender equality, racial wealth gap, and environmental issues. She enjoys working at the intersection of race and gender, especially as it relates to international relations.

When she is not writing, unsurprisingly, Jillian enjoys reading. She also loves to travel and explore the culture and food of her destinations.

For more information, or travel suggestions, you can connect with Jillian at jillian.giberson1@gmail.com, as well as on Instagram @jilliangiberson and Twitter @GibersonJillian 

Risks & Challenges

The biggest challenge with publishing a book is delivering the finished book to the backer, specifically my mailing of the book to you. I have eliminated this risk by building into the campaign the mailing and shipping costs of your signed copies to you within each pre-order tier.

The risk of delivering the pre-sale copies of my book is contingent on the publisher we use. I will be working closely with New Degree Press to make sure we get the earliest possible ship date of the signed book copy to you. We will keep all pre-sale backers up-to-date as my book hits each key milestone and publishes. You will know when the copies of my book you pre-ordered are expected to ship.

Other Ways You Can Help

For those who can’t contribute, but still want to help:

• Please Share my Pre-sale Campaign on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn with your friends, family, and network. Please use #Nevertheless and tag me as well as my publisher, New Degree Press so we can help amplify your efforts.
• You can easily share my Pre-Sale Campaign Page via Indiegogo at the top of the page
• Feel free to share the book with 5 friends, family members, or co-workers who you think would enjoy it.