SECRETS OF THE SPRAKKAR

For readers of The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates and Becoming by Michelle Obama and for fans of Nordic lifestyle handbooks such as The Finnish Way, Hygge and The Little Book of Lykke, comes SECRETS OF THE SPRAKKAR: How the Extraordinary Women of Iceland are Bringing Gender Equality Within Reach by Eliza Reid, the Canadian-born First Lady of Iceland. Eliza's lauded op-ed in the New York Times last fall revealed the outdated expectations that surround female spouses of male heads of state to this day. Part reportage, part memoir, and part travelogue, SECRETS OF THE SPRAKKAR goes deeper to explore gender equality as it weaves her experience as first lady, immigrant, entrepreneur, and mother of four with riveting and often surprising stories from women around Iceland. With increased attention to gender issues spurred by the #MeToo movement, this is the perfect time for a book about a country that has made significant strides toward closing the gender gap.

SECRETS OF THE SPRAKKAR is a love letter to Iceland, a country Eliza moved to at the age of 27 and where she now serves as the first lady. This is a portrait of what it's like to live, work, and raise a family in a nation where the aspiration to gender parity is considered the norm. While not exclusively a memoir, readers will have the opportunity to pull back the curtain on the life of a first lady, who is also an outspoken feminist, and her efforts to modernize the role.

Sprakkar is the plural form of an ancient Icelandic word, sprakki, that means extraordinary or outstanding woman. Iceland is rightly thought of as one of the best places in the world to be a woman. The country has topped the World Economic Forum's global gender gap index for the last eleven years and features highly in numerous other similar indices. Through conversations with women around Iceland, including a mountaineer, sexologist, mayor, football hero, and others, SECRETS OF THE SPRAKKAR illustrates what has led to this level of parity. These explorations cover numerous aspects of Icelandic society, from parenting to politics, sexuality to sports, and help to glean what it is that has helped Iceland move so far towards full gender parity, while also identifying the challenges that remain to see this dream become a reality.

Eliza Reid is co-founder of the acclaimed Iceland Writers Retreat, former editor of Icelandair's in-flight magazine, and former staff writer at Iceland Review magazine. Eliza grew up near Ottawa, Canada and moved to Iceland in 2003. Eliza's husband, Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, took office as President of Iceland on August 1, 2016, and she became the country's first lady. In that capacity, she has been active in promoting gender equality, entrepreneurship and innovation, tourism & sustainability, and the country's writers and rich literary heritage.
Eliza was named a United Nations Special Ambassador for Tourism and the Sustainable Development Goals. Eliza has been published in numerous newspapers and magazines, including a lauded op-ed in the New York Times on the strange role of the first lady. She has also delivered a TEDx talk on the same topic.

Eliza has degrees from Trinity College at the University of Toronto and from St. Antony's College, Oxford University. Eliza & Guðni have four young children together and she has an adult stepdaughter.