Cathleen Miller’s Champion of Choice is a rigorous yet eloquent account of Dr. Sadik’s inspirational career, and a beautiful and long-awaited tribute to one of the greatest women’s advocates of the 20th century.
— Ted Turner; UN Foundation Founder and Chairman and Founder of CNN
Cathleen Miller has completed Champion of Choice, the biography of Nafis Sadik scheduled to be published March 2013 by the University of Nebraska Press. This nonfiction narrative includes much behind-the-scenes material about the political battles between the United Nations, the Vatican, and the U.S. Republican Party over women’s rights—battles which are still raging today. The research for this work led the author around the globe to interview sources.
Here is a brief description of the book:
Not many women in modern history can claim to have changed the world. But during her thirty years at the United Nations Population Fund, Nafis Sadik’s perseverance in supplying access to contraception cut the global birth rate in half—prompting the London Times to call her one of “the most powerful women in the world.” Written in a dramatic narrative style, her biography tells the true story of a character who defies all stereotypes—an obstetrician, a dedicated wife and mother, a Pakistani, a devout Muslim—who becomes the first female director of the U.N. Champion of Choice delivers insights on how to navigate the minefield of international diplomacy and offers parents a novel idea: how to raise their daughter to be a world leader. Besides the life of Dr. Sadik, this fully documented work also includes short profiles of other females in developing nations, tales of transformation—from victims to activists—as they add their stories to the history of a movement. According to accounts from Cairo to New York, Nafis Sadik has been “the scourge of the men in robes,” a formidable opponent of those who would deny women the opportunity to control their own bodies.
Cathy’s previous work includes a memoir, The Birdhouse Chronicles, and the international bestseller Desert Flower, which has been published in 55 languages, with over 11 million copies in print. The feature film adapted from this work has been released in 34 countries; in the U.S. Desert Flower is distributed by National Geographic.
As a professor at San José State University, Cathy teaches creative writing, specializing in nonfiction. She was one of the founders of the Wild Writing Women, a group of San Francisco travel writers and bon vivants. Their online magazine won the gold medal from the Society of American Travel Writers. Cathy is also a member of Bay Area Travel Writers.
