Join the Badass Book Besties: Empowering Women Through Reading and Friendship
I have such a treat for you today – I’ve been baring my soul and love to you all for the past few weeks and I’m ready to share something super special and near & dear to my heart.
And that is…The Badass Book Besties. I am the founder, which means that I am the owner & creator of this incredible membership, but…that doesn’t mean that I run the ship – or rather the bookstore? I always like to say that I like long walks down a bookstore aisle instead of a beach. I’m the rare person who lives in Florida and who actually hates the heat and being in the sand, but I digress, let’s get back to the point!
The real beauty of this membership is the badass women who are a part of it. Since it’s creation back in 2021, I have met some amazing women who truly define the meaning of the word badass.
Now – you might be wondering why I chose the name Badass Book Besties. Well, it doesn’t mean the first definition that you’ll find on dictionary.com, which is a person who is difficult to deal with; mean-tempered and sometimes violent or even so tough as to be somewhat intimidating.
No way – the third definition is what takes the cake, and it is: to be awesome or impressive and worthy of admiration. THIS IS the true meaning of this membership.
The motto and mission of this membership is to inspire and encourage women to live their most badass life. I mean, you can clearly see where I gained the inspiration for this podcast! My vision is to lift other women to feel confident, validated, and just full of LIFE.
SO – Who are we and how can we help you?
Being an adult can be hard.
Finding friends can be even harder.
Making time to read for pleasure and/or self-improvement? Even worse.
How can we:
meet new people when we are consistently pushed in a thousand different directions and unable to take time for ourselves?
put ourselves out here to chat with others when we are unsure of where to find them?
stay accountable to read when we already have so much on our plate and no one to chat with about it?
The Badass Book Besties is here to help you do just that!
We are dedicated to transforming the lives of women. Our goal is to encourage intellectual conversation, help create new friendships, and keep you accountable to read for fun or for personal growth. We believe in the power of conversation, connection, and analyzing how books and words impact us on a deeper level.
If you’re craving an authentic life, prioritizing what brings you joy (building & strengthening relationships), and spending more time doing what you love (reading fantastic books), then…
THIS is what you have been looking for!
In this membership, you’ll have access to:
The Lotus Academy – our personal growth book club where we read transformational nonfiction books and actually talk about how the ideas apply to our own lives. We meet twice a month to dive into the book together, reflect, share, and support one another as we grow.
Writes Well With Others – our writing club for women who want a consistent space to write, explore their creativity, strengthen their skills, and actually make progress on the stories and ideas they’ve been wanting to work on. We meet every other week for guided lessons, writing exercises, discussion, and time to write together.
A supportive community of women – a space where you can connect with women who are interested in reading, writing, personal growth, and becoming more of who they want to be. This is a community where we celebrate each other, encourage one another, and genuinely care about what’s happening in each other’s lives.
A growing resource library – including discussion guides, writing resources, personal growth materials, past content, and other tools designed to help you get even more out of the books, conversations, and experiences inside the membership.
In this Membership, we want to CELEBRATE YOU BEING A BADASS WOMAN. Whatever interests you, whatever lights your soul on fire, we want to show off how badass and incredible you are, just for being YOU.
Oftentimes we are the cheerleaders for others – cheering them along on their journey and excited to share in their joy, but we might not always get the same accolades. It’s about damn time that changed, my friends.
Our motto is to inspire and encourage women to live their most badass life! To empower them to live out their dreams as a badass book reader, mom, bestie, earth lover, woman, human…whatever makes her the most badass woman she can be.
Are you wondering if this is the right membership for you?
Well, let’s see if this describes you:
💜 You’re a badass woman who deserves to know that she is valued, appreciated, and accepted just as she is. You yearn for a sense of belonging, stronger friendships, and connections with others; an engaging conversation keeps you on your toes and invigorates you.
💜 You love learning new things & expanding your mind, so you sometimes view inspirational content on YouTube and listen to a variety of podcasts. Maybe you love reading a variety of books (even though you sometimes don’t have the time) and filling your bookshelves with new books to read.
💜 You might work from home or you’re unable to find the right people you jive with at work, so you feel isolated and alone, but don’t know where to meet new people. You wish it was easier for you to find a group of women you can connect and grow with, who celebrate you and how badass you are, and who will lift you higher than you’ve ever dreamed.
Does that sound like you? Maybe it checks off some of your personality boxes?
I can assure you – I am right there with you.
Who is Brianna, the creator of the Badass Book Besties?
When I was a young girl, I was obsessed with reading, and I enjoyed spending time with my friends. I devoured all the books I could get my hands on, and my bookshelf became filled with so many different titles to be read; seeing them always brought me so much joy (take that, Marie Kondo). The library and bookstores were my happy place, and I often took stacks of books home. The crinkly sound of the plastic book coverings and the smells between the book pages excited me! I was raised into a family of readers as well, with my grandmother, mother, and sister, so it seemed only natural that I would be in love with reading as well.
Consequently, I chose English Education as a major and career path. I loved diving deep into literature, analyzing texts, and writing verbosely about everything from Romantic Literature to Shakespeare to Adolescent Lit, and Children’s Lit. I was in love.
I knew I wanted to be a teacher or in a school environment, so I spent the next ten years of my life as an educator – a teacher, a school counselor, and then a librarian. I enjoyed being with the students, but I was constantly busy (which caused me to lose some friendships along the way) and felt like I wasn’t the truest version of myself. As I continued in my career, I began to feel more and more isolated.
Then, after having my children (whom I absolutely love and adore), I felt even more isolated – especially with not having mom friends. Once I started working from home, I knew I needed to find another way to interact with adults, form new friendships, and strengthen connections with the amazing women in my life.
When I think about why I decided to become a teacher, a school counselor, and now a community builder, I realized it’s because I want people to FEEL that they are being paid attention to. I want people to know how much they matter and how important they are in this world. It is important to me to show them that someone CARES about what they are doing and where they want to go in life. I accept people for who they are and who they wish to be. I want people and myself to be accepted and loved, like I so badly wanted (and still want) in my life.
I decided it was time to get back to my first true love: reading. I wanted to get back that enchantment feeling I once had. I wanted to get back into reading with others and engaging in intelligent conversations with REAL people. I crave real & honest conversations with women who seek growth, validation, and acceptance. I was fed a content heavy load of classical literature in college, and my passion for reading for pleasure slowly dwindled. I stopped reading as often; I just wasn’t in the mood for it. Books were, in a sense, my friends. I missed being with them, holding their words between my hands. I also missed talking with others about books! I missed the connections and discussions with other like-minded people. I missed that vibe you get when you’re with the right people, discussing topics you enjoy.
So, here I am – a woman in her 30s seeking out friendships with women who value the same ideals – transformation and growth, building new relationships with others, and making time for each other.
THIS is why I started the Badass Book Besties – I wanted to create a membership where women could connect with other women, learn more in a community-based environment, and feel seen.
If you’ve made it this far, my friend – I can tell you’re interested and I am SO excited to see you in the club!
I’d like to now take a moment and chat about the two book clubs inside of the membership, which really drives the whole purpose of how we create community.
Lotus Academy Book Club
Are you looking to dive deeper into transformational or self-help books? Are you intrigued by the idea of collaborating with others, and helping each other grow?
In the Lotus Academy Book Club, our focus will be on transforming our mindset, reaching our goals, and connecting with others through engaging conversation around a new motivational book every two months. You’ll receive access to a Discussion Guide to help you read & analyze the text, as well as break down the information further into manageable steps. You’ll also have a Book Bestie that you’re paired with, if you so choose, to keep you accountable not only to read, but to help you transform & grow into who you’re meant to be.
If you’re wondering about the name –
The Lotus Flower grows in the deep mud, far away from the sun. But, sooner or later, the Lotus reaches the light becoming the most beautiful flower ever. The Lotus flower is regarded in many different cultures, as a symbol of purity, enlightenment, self-regeneration and rebirth. According to Buddhism, every person has the potential to become perfect and enlightened, and it is just a matter of time until each human reaches the light. The Buddha is sometimes depicted sitting on a Lotus flower, symbolizing the one who overcame the pain of that prevails in the material world and became enlightened.
The transformational growth that a lotus flower experiences exemplifies what I hope will occur in the Lotus Academy. You will transform your life into new meaning, even if the path to get here has been muddy or unclear. We are in this together! Our goal is to support you in living your best life!
Some books we’ve read this year: You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero, The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks, Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo, Ask And It Is Given by Esther and Jerry Hicks, and more. You can find each of the books inside of my Lotus Academy Bookshop.
Writes Well With Others
Do you have stories, ideas, or words floating around in your head that you keep saying you’ll get to someday? Or maybe you already love writing, but you want more consistency, encouragement, and a group of women to share the experience with.
Writes Well With Others is our writing club for women who want to make space for their creativity and actually spend time writing. You do not need to be a published author, have a finished manuscript, or even know exactly what you want to write. This is a space to learn, experiment, practice, and make progress without the pressure of having everything figured out.
We meet every other week for guided writing lessons, creative exercises, discussion, and time to work on your own writing. We explore everything from developing characters and turning an idea into a story to strengthening scenes, revising your work, and simply getting the words onto the page.
More than anything, Writes Well With Others gives you a reason to keep showing up for your writing. Instead of letting that idea sit untouched for another six months, you’ll have dedicated time, encouragement, and a community of women who understand how exciting — and sometimes intimidating — it can be to create something that is entirely your own.
Whether you want to write a novel, memoir, short story, personal essay, or simply reconnect with your creativity, you are welcome here.
The Badass Book Besties is where you need to be!
Transform your life and join our Membership! Be ready to form badass friendships with other women, just like you. Avoid the feeling of being lonely or left out and be the BEST version of yourself that you’ve been dreaming to be.
If you’re looking to make connections with other women, if you’re wanting to expand your thinking, be celebrated for being a badass, AND make new friends while you’re at it, you should join us! You’ll leave feeling inspired, refreshed, and happier!
I hope you’ve truly enjoyed hearing this episode, my friends. If you’d like to check out the Badass Book Besties:
🌟 Join the Community: Badass Book Besties Website
📚 Find me on Facebook: Badass Book Besties
📚 Follow me on Instagram: @badassbookbestie
Embrace the journey of self-discovery and connection, besties! Let’s turn the page to new adventures together. 📖💪💫
Until next time besties! Always be sure to keep your glass and bookshelves full.
