Imagine a world where everyone feels safe, confident, and empowered.
That’s the vision behind “Get Empowered.” And we’re thrilled to share this knowledge with you in our free monthly Book Circle. No commitment required — just come when you can (registration is encouraged)! —
Let’s create a safer, more confident world together with “Get Empowered.”
Join Lauren Taylor’s
“Get Empowered” Book Circle: A Space for Growth and Understanding
Navigating our modern-day society can be a challenge — especially for women and 2SLGBTQIA+ people. If you’re like us, and you’ve felt
• Unsure how to set boundaries in difficult situations
• A need for practical self-defense skills that work for you
• A desire to connect with others on similar healing journeys
• That you want to feel more confident in your everyday life
…then our monthly Book Circle might be just what you’ve been looking for. Either way, it’s free to find out!
Our virtual Book Circle happens the fourth Sunday of every month at 4 PM EDT / 1 PM PDT.
It’s free to join, and you’re welcome to come as you are — and whenever you can (registration encouraged). Will you join us?
Our Book Circle is a space where you can:
- Share your experiences without judgment
- Learn practical tools for feeling safer and more confident
- Be the expert about your own body
- Connect with others who understand your challenges
- Ask questions and get support from people who’ve been there.
That’s what a Book Circle is all about. We’re not here to simply read a book together. We’re here to create a community of empowered people with skills in empowerment self-defense.
Each month, we’ll gather on Zoom to:
- Ground ourselves in a supportive environment
- Explore the topics from “Get Empowered” that matter most to you
- Learn from Lauren Taylor, the book’s co-author, who brings years of real-world experience
- Share our stories and ask questions in a safe space
- Practice practical empowerment self-defense skills and exercises that you can use in daily life.
After each circle, we’ll send out a list of topics to all registrants. The topic most people are interested in will be the focus of our next session! We’ll share a follow up notice of the winning topic for the next circle, and you’re welcome to come if it interests you! After all, this is your healing journey!
Who Is This For?
Our circle welcomes anyone who wants to feel more empowered, including:
- Women and 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals seeking supportive community
- BIPOC and disabled folks looking for an inclusive space
- Anyone curious about empowerment self-defense
- People wanting to learn empowerment self-defense skills to increase their safety in real-life situations
- Those looking to connect with others on a similar journey of healing and growth.
Whether you’ve read “Get Empowered” or are just starting out, you’re welcome here. We’re all learning together.
“Get Empowered” is the #1 tool to have on your journey to
safety and confidence.
Join us on the fourth Sunday of every month at 4 p.m. EDT / 1 p.m. PDT. It’s free to join, and you’re welcome to
come as you are — and when you can (no commitment required, but registration is encouraged).
Together, we can create the safer, more confident world we all deserve.
“You are the expert in your own safety.”
— Lauren Taylor, co-author of “Get Empowered”
This quote reminds us that empowerment starts with trusting ourselves.
Our “Get Empowered” Book Circle is here to help you recognize and build on the strength you already have within you.
“Get Empowered: A Practical Guide to Thrive, Heal, and Embrace Your Confidence in a Sexist World”
By Nadia Telsey and Lauren R. Taylor
A practical guide for women and LGBTQIA+ people to claim our right to be safe, to take up space, and to speak up for ourselves.
Don’t walk alone at night. Don’t leave your drink unattended. Don’t hurt anyone’s feelings.
Most women and others assigned female at birth are taught these rules, intended to keep us safe from harassment, abuse, and assault, from a young age. While the #MeToo movement has swept the globe and shined a light on the pervasiveness of gender-based violence that led to these “rules,” the fears persist — and for good reason.
While men — who commit almost all gender-based violence—are the ones who should be responsible for changing, those of us who are targeted shouldn’t have to wait for the world to change in order to live safer, fuller, more authentic lives.
Through real-life stories, meaningful questions, and interactive exercises, “Get Empowered” will teach you to:
- Understand why gendered violence exists, and how it shows up
- Take up space
- Say what you want
- Let go of self-blame
- Heal from past traumas.
Whether you’re looking for ways to stand up for yourself, you’re a survivor focused on healing, or you’re committed to being an ally, this book will give you the tools you need to thrive.
“Get Empowered” invites you to look more deeply into the social programming that asks most women and LGBTQIA+ people to be compliant and passive or to put other people’s needs first, and instead guides you through claiming your power and taking up space.
Take a look at the chapters inside “Get Empowered”
- More than rape: Understanding the problem
- How does gender-based violence happen?
- Is there something wrong with me? Hint: It’s not your fault.
- Where you’re going: Envisioning the life you want
- First, you have to believe: You’re worth defending
- Claim your power
- You have rights, and knowing them gives you power
- Tune back in: Get in touch with your needs
- Get your message across: Speak your mind — and your heart
- What’s next: Build your crew, get support, change the world
- Embrace the Yes: Creating the life you want.
Get Empowered” is more than just a book; it’s a lifeline. Born from Nadia and Lauren’s own experiences of fear, vulnerability, and the pursuit of safety — plus those of our students — it’s testimony to the power of the human spirit to overcome adversity.
We wrote this book to dismantle the internal barriers that keep us small, to ignite a spark of courage within every reader, and to reclaim our right to live without fear. It’s about restoring our instincts, rebuilding our confidence, and revolutionizing the way we see ourselves and the world.
Our hope is that “Get Empowered” will not only protect you but also empower you to create a ripple effect of change, inspiring others to join the movement for a safer, more equitable world.
“Read Get Empowered, and you will feel safer and less lonely. This book speaks the truths we all need to hear. And most importantly, Nadia and Lauren will help you feel thoroughly supported in your journey to survive our disempowering world. Challenge the shame and blame that gender-based hate thrives on, and find powerful tools to transcend all the lies you’ve been told about yourself.”
— Jeffrey Marsh, LGBTQIA+ activist and author of How to Be You and Take Your Own Advice
“This book is a gift. I hate living in a world where this book is necessary, but I love this book.
Compassionate, thorough, and encouraging — it’ll inspire you and make you feel less alone.”
— Alexandra Petri, Washington Post columnist and author of US History: Important American Documents (I Made Up)
“Get Empowered is a resource every person needs to walk through the world with their head held high and their dignity intact. We have all been impacted by sexual violence — whether it is our living experience or it happened to someone we love. But that means we all need the knowledge and skills to face these experiences so we have self-agency and can affirm our own dignity for ourselves and in all of our relationships. Get Empowered gives you all of these tools with compassion, strength, and courage.”
— Rosalind Wiseman, author of Queenbees + Wannabes and Courageous Discomfort
“Get Empowered is like having a wise, empathetic friend in your corner as you navigate the world. By teaching readers how to identify the many complex ways gender-based violence shows up—and the trauma that exists from surviving it—this book gives readers a plethora of smart, actionable tools to not just stay safe in today’s world but actively pursue the rich, full lives they deserve.”
— Lisa Bonos, technology editor and dating and relationships reporter at The Washington Post
“Get Empowered isn’t just another self-defense book. This is a comprehensive guide to overall empowerment. Telsey and Taylor not only examine the larger structural context of gender-based violence but they give us the tools that we need to begin to dismantle those structures. They provide a framework for how we can heal individually and collectively from the effects of violence and empower us to move forward, together.”
— Wendy Rouse, author of Her Own Hero: The Origins of the Women’s Self-Defense Movement
About the Authors
“Get Empowered” is the product of two extraordinary women whose lives intersected through a shared passion for empowering others and ending gender-based violence.
Nadia Telsey
Nadia Telsey pioneered the field of verbal and emotional (as opposed to solely physical) self-defense, beginning with the founding of a feminist self-defense organization in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1970. She taught empowerment self-defense to women at the University of Oregon from 1989 to 2007. Nadia served on the Oregon Attorney General’s Sexual Assault Task Force, and many of her students went on to teach empowerment self-defense around the United States and beyond.
Nadia received numerous awards, including: Founder’s Honors: National Women’s Martial Arts Federation; Lifetime Achievement Award: Pacific Association of Women Martial Artists; Human Rights Award: City of Eugene, Ore.; and Change Award: Oregon Attorney General’s Sexual Assault Task Force.
Nadia wrote a version of “Get Empowered,” called “Self-Defense from the Inside Out,” in 1988, that served as a textbook for more than 2,000 women in her years at the university (pictured below). It’s the foundation of this book.
Nadia passed away peacefully at her home in February 2024. Her dream and passion for empowerment self-defense lives on vividly in her work and community, and through your experience with this book.
Nadia’s Dream
Almost all incarcerated women are survivors of abuse and sexual assault. “Get Empowered” by Nadia Telsey and Lauren R. Taylor is a powerful tool designed to help survivors reclaim their lives. Nadia dreamed of putting “Get Empowered” in the hands of incarcerated women around the U.S. Your donation of $20 (or more!) can make that dream a reality by providing a book to a woman who’s locked up. Let’s work together to empower survivors and end violence.
Lauren Taylor
Lauren R. Taylor has been working to end gender-based violence since 1978, when she co-founded Washington, D.C.’s first shelter for abused women and their children. As an empowerment self-defense teacher and founder-director of Defend Yourself, she and her team have offered almost 2,000 trainings to some 40,000 people in the D.C. area and nationally. She specializes in teaching women, survivors, disabled people, and LGBTQIA+ people.
Lauren also co-founded Safe Bars, which teaches bystander intervention skills to those who work in bars, clubs, breweries, and restaurants to create safer and more inclusive hospitality culture. In 2016, she co-founded the National Street Harassment Hotline, in cooperation with RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) and Stop Street Harassment.
Lauren’s work has been featured in The Washington Post, Self, the Huffington Post, and on National Public Radio, Unworthy, Quartz, and Mic. She’s spoken at the National Sexual Assault Conference, National Center for Victims of Crime training institute, and AAUW’s National Conference for College Women Student Leaders, Creating Change, and more. Her writing has been published widely, including in The Washington Post, Everyday Feminism, and the Ms. Blog.
Want to Help Others “Get Empowered”?
Every human deserves to feel safe, confident, and empowered. “Get Empowered” is a crucial step toward achieving this vision. By sharing knowledge, fostering community, and providing practical tools, together we can create a world where everyone can protect themselves and live life to the fullest.
How You Can Spread This Knowledge and Support Your Community
- Buy the Book: Share the wisdom of “Get Empowered” with others.
- Leave a Review: Help inspire others by sharing your experience.
- Share the Book: Spread the word about the importance of empowerment. Tell your friends, family, and community about it.
- Support Defend Yourself: Contribute to our mission of creating safer communities.
- Uplift Others: Empower those around you by sharing what you’ve learned.
- Donate to Nadia’s Dream: Help incarcerated women get access to “Get Empowered” and reclaim their lives.
- Partner with Us: Join forces to create a safer community.