The Red Rose Crew: A True Story of Women, Winning, and the Water

In the Red Rose Crew, we meet a small group of women who overcame sexism at a time when society and sports were male-dominated. The year was 1975 when rowers Gail Pearson, Carie Graves and Lynn Stillman came together to create the Red Rose Crew. Pearson, an MIT professor who was known for her quiet demeanour yet fought hard for her team and wasn’t afraid to speak up for herself to any doubters. Graves was the opposite of Pearson as she was a college dropout, but they shared the most important similarity of being powerful athletes. Lynn Stillman on the other hand was a small 16-year-old girl from California. Although they seemed like a mismatched group the three athletes were a force to be reckoned with. Another important aspect of their team was their coach, Harry Parker. Parker, who also acted as Harvard’s men rowing coach, believed in his team and stood with them in face of adversity. Together, they won a silver medal in the 1975 World Championships and qualified for the Olympics.

The main theme of this book was gender and the impact it had on the team. Back in 1975, it was quite uncommon for women to be seen as equal to men in all aspects. Sports were still considered something only men participated in. The Red Rose Crew even faced discrimination from their male rowing counterparts. Going from underdogs to Olympic hopefuls all while facing misogynistic comments is truly inspiring.

Before reading this book I did not think I was going to enjoy it as much as I did. I was never a fan of rowing and thought a book about a team of rowers was not going to be very entertaining. However, I was very wrong. The Red Rose Crew goes into detail about the prejudice the women faced yet how they stayed strong and confident in themselves. Taking place in 1975 it was very inspirational to see how these women paved the way for current female athletes. If you need a motivational read Red Rose Crew is a great option!