Fall Down Seven Times, Stand Up Eight: Patsy Takemoto Mink and the Fight for Title IX

I loved learning about the inspiring, empowering true story of Patsy Takemoto Mink. Although packed with info, this book is also accessible to young readers. I appreciated the title's refrain throughout the book.

Growing up in Maui, Patsy Takemoto had a Japanese Daruma doll that rolled over and sprang back up signifying that one should never give up.  Patsy followed the traditional Japanese saying of “fall down seven times, stand up eight” her entire life. Despite relentless acts of discrimination, she never gave up her dream of making the world a better place. When she was rejected from medical school based on her gender, she realized that women would never have an equal opportunity unless the laws were changed. She became a lawyer and then a politician who in 1965 became the first woman of color in the U.S. Congress. Most notably, she cosponsored and fought for a bill called Title IX that required schools to treat men and women equally as students and athletes.Patsy’s  rousing story is an excellent reminder of what we can accomplish with hard work, dedication, and grit.