Brooke Baldwin at Nook!

Last Wednesday, we were privileged to host CNN Anchor, Brooke Baldwin at Nook! Brooke kindly took time out of her vacation to stop by the shop and sign copies of her new book, The Wall Street Bestseller Huddle.

Huddle celebrates and explores the phenomenon of women supporting and empowering other women. Brooke comments in the prologue ‘A huddle is a place where women can become energized by the mere fact of their coexistence.  A huddle is where we can uplift each other to succeed, thrive and if I may - get amazing s**t done.  And even though huddles are productive - they create the conditions for change, progress, and transformation - they aren't always results oriented. Sometimes they are a space where women can simple bear witness for each other, or quietly sustain each others very survival.  And while there is certainly strength in numbers, there can also be incredible huddle energy between just a few women'.  

Women all over the world are discovering their collective power when they come together to help each other excel in all aspects of life. Especially pertinent in traditionally male dominated careers, women have learned -  instead of competing with each other - the power of female huddles can create space and seats tables, that may otherwise be closed off to them.  Brooke documents her own personal discovery and conversion to the benefits of the ‘huddle’ and how it changed her life.

This movement is taking the world by storm.  In the book, Brooke meets and learns from some of most inspiring female ‘huddles’ including:

- Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, which was founded by one stay-at-home Mum, motivated to make a much needed change to gun law in the US after the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Primary School. The organization now has over 6 million supporters and is continuing to lobby, going up against the powerful and intimidating NRA, to implement important new changes for good.

- A group of 19 African American women in Texas, who made history by forming a 'huddle' to empower and learn from each other and ultimately make history by all being elected judges. Known as the Houston 19 or Harris County Black Girl Magic, a powerful photo of them all dressed in black in court, became an icon of female collective power and an inspiration for women and young girls all over the country.

- Reese Witherspoon’s production company, Hello Sunshine, which ‘puts women at the centre of every story we create, celebrate and discover’. Hello Sunshine employs mostly women to create incredible cinema, promote upcoming and thought-provoking literature through Reese’s Book Club and providing career opportunities and experiences for young women rising within the industry.

As Nooks first official book signing, we were pretty blown away that it was an internationally recognizable household name! In fact, when we released the poster of the upcoming book signing, lots of our customers came in beforehand to confirm it wasn’t a hoax! On the day, Brooke couldn’t have been more gracious and charming, spending time with everyone discussing the book, life and the power of ‘huddles’!

Huddle encourages you to nurture your existing ‘huddles’ and create some new ones! Whether is a coffee morning with your gal pals, book clubs, creating a new group to support the community, huddles are a powerful asset that can move mountains, open doors and change the world!

Thank you to Brooke for being such an awesome guest, Will for helping make it happen and James for taking these photos on the day!