Cathleen Miller has completed an around-the-world journey to research her next book, Champion of Choice. Champion is the biography of Dr. Nafis Sadik, a leader the London Times calls “one of the most powerful women in the world.” As head of the United Nations Population Fund, she changed the lives of millions by helping women gain access to family planning, birth control, health care, education, and the tools to start their own businesses, like micro-credit loans.
But this book will be more than the portrait of just one person; it provides the history of a movement, that of global empowerment to women, looking at how far we’ve come and how far we have to go. Sandwiched between the chapters of Dr. Sadik’s life are the “vignettes,” mini-profiles of the women Cathy’s meeting along the way. The subjects cover a broad spectrum, from success stories like the portrait of a human rights activist in Kosovo, to the heart-breaking life of a child bride in Ethiopia.
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 27 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’s also 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.
