Suzanne Venker stems from a long line of women trailblazers and activists, a group that’s typically associated with feminist thinkers. But the women in Suzanne’s family weren’t feminists. While they were highly accomplished, professional women, they were, first and foremost, wives and mothers whose conservative, or classically liberal, ideals underpinned their worldview.

As a result, Suzanne grew up with a view of women and men that was decidedly different from the status quo. First and foremost, she was not taught that American women are oppressed by the so-called patriarchy. On the contrary, she knew women could do whatever they set their minds to because the women in her family proved it in spades.

Second, Suzanne was not taught that women who took time out of their professional lives to raise a family were letting down the Sisterhood. On the contrary, she was taught that nothing in life is more important or valuable than raising children.

Third, Suzanne was not taught to view men as the enemy. On the contrary, most men are a woman’s greatest asset for those who understand the male psyche and how vastly different it is from women’s.

This countercultural worldview made Suzanne’s understanding of sex and dating, marriage and motherhood, work and family refreshingly different and resulted in her success in all of these domains. She believes strongly that women today are misled when it comes to these issues and has thus made it her mission to fight feminist narratives that undermine women’s happiness.

Suzanne’s message is not only inspiring, it’s empowering, for it helps women embrace their inherent self-worth rather than feel the need to prove their value to men and to society or become a man’s “equal,” as feminists repeatedly insist women do.