Starre Vartan—The Stronger Sex: What Science Tells Us About the Power of the Female Body

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

Cover of the book The Stronger Sex: What Science Tells Us About the Power of the Female Body by Starre Vartan, showing a woman athlete mid-stride on a red background, with the book’s title and author’s name in white print and the subtitle in black print superimposed over the red background.

The Stronger Sex

THE STRONGER SEX:
WHAT SCIENCE TELLS US ABOUT
THE POWER OF THE FEMALE BODY
Starre Vartan
Seal Press (Hachette), July 15, 2025
Hardcover, $30; eBook, $18.99
Hardcover ISBN-10: 1541604423; ISBN-13: 978-1541604421
eBook ASIN: B0DF39S487

Vartan reports:

The idea for my book came from lessons I learned from my own body as a free-range kid growing up in New York's Hudson Valley. I spent most of my free time out in the woods playing games and enacting stories. In classic only-kid style, I had an imaginary world called Poentica with friends and pets, plus my real pet dogs, with which I ran in and out of the doggie door.

My grandma and I lived by ourselves. My grandma was a strong woman who had been an EMT and small-plane pilot. She chopped her own firewood into her 70s, and together we grew an acre of veggies. There were peach, pear, and apple trees to harvest and process. I had a lot of physical chores, from hauling wood to weed-whacking, which helped me learn my own strength early and often.

Portrait photo of Starre Vartan

Starre Vartan

Outside our home, I was often frustrated when it was assumed I couldn't do something physical simply because I was a girl. People saw my long golden curls and the cute dresses my grammy made me, not the sturdy legs and shoulders beneath.

What my culture taught me about my body was not what I knew to be true. That idea stuck with me. I finally wrote a feature story about the strength of female bodies for Medium in 2019 and got wonderful feedback from that piece. In researching the feature, I knew I had a book because there was so much more to cover.

I worked on the proposal on and off, but it was NASW member Christie Aschwanden's "Make a Book" class during the pandemic that got it done. (I was in Australia and had to wake up at 4 a.m. to attend!)

After Christie's agent, Alice Martell, spoke to the class, I contacted her about my idea, which she loved. Alice helped me refine my proposal through many smart edits and got it sold in the U.S. (Hachette/Seal Press), U.K. (Atlantic), Korea, and China. Christie and Alice deserve all the big Thank Yous for getting the book proposal out and sold!

Contact info:

NASW members: will your book be published soon? Promote it by submitting your report for Advance Copy.

Tell your fellow NASW members how you came up with the idea for your book, developed a proposal, found an agent and publisher, funded and conducted research, and put the book together. Include what you wish you had known before you began working on your book or what you might have done differently.

See https://www.nasw.org/advance-copy-submission-guidelines. NASW member login required.

View Advance Copy archives at https://www.nasw.org/member-article/advance-copy.

Thinking of writing a book? If you are a NASW member, you may access a list of more than 200 books and online resources to help you craft your book proposal, find an agent and funding sources, negotiate your contract, learn about self-publishing, publicize and market your book, and more at https://www.nasw.org/article/write-book.

View the recording of an Advance Copy Virtual Business Chat, A Primer for Authors on Book Publicity. NASW member login required.

View the recording of a Virtual Business Chat presented by NASW’s Freelance Committee and Advance Copy column Writing Wikipedia Profiles. NASW member login required.

View the recording of a recent Virtual Skills Chat presented by NASW’s Editing Committee How to Break into Editing. NASW member login required.

View the recording of a recent Virtual Skills Chat presented by NASW’s Freelance Committee Using Generative A.I. as Writers and Editors. NASW member login required.

Send book info and questions about book publishing to Lynne Lamberg, NASW book editor, llamberg@nasw.org.

Follow @LynneLamberg and @lynnelamberg.bsky.social for news about NASW authors, science/medical books, and writing.

Banner image adapted from original photo by Starre Vartan.

NASW invites publishers and publicists to purchase NASW website ads to promote their authors and books via NASW’s self-service purchasing portal.

Advance Copy

The path from idea to book may take myriad routes. The Advance Copy column, started in 2000 by NASW volunteer book editor Lynne Lamberg, features NASW authors telling the stories behind their books. Authors are asked to report how they got their idea, honed it into a proposal, found an agent and a publisher, funded and conducted their research, and organized their writing process. They also are asked to share what they wish they’d known when they started or would do differently next time, and what advice they can offer aspiring authors. Lamberg edits the authors’ answers to produce the Advance Copy reports.

NASW members: Will your book be published soon? Visit www.nasw.org/advance-copy-submission-guidelines for information on submitting your report.

Publication of NASW author reports in Advance Copy does not constitute NASW's endorsement of any publication or the ideas, values, or material contained within or espoused by authors or their books. We hope this column stimulates productive discussions on important topics now and in the future as both science and societies progress. We welcome your discussion in the comments section below.

ADVERTISEMENT
Advertise with NASW