Natasha Agarwal, 17, a senior at the Canterbury School in Fort Myers, has published a book. And it’s not her first foray into the publishing business.
Her book, “Tales of African Women Trailblazers,” describes the lives of 21 African-born women who have overcome challenges to find success in various fields. She wrote the books because she wanted young African girls to be able to see a successful future for themselves with education and freedom to pursue their interests.
Natasha Agarwal, of Fort Myers, Florida, has published a book
She describes how she selected the women she highlights in the book.
“I really wanted to highlight people from different career paths and different countries in Africa,” she said.
Agarwal was able to contact one of the women in the book. Nana Ama Browne Klutse, a professor of physics at the University of Ghana, offered to spearhead distributing the book in her home country.
1 of 6
— BOOKGIRLWGCU1021AM
A few pages in her book. Natasha Agarwal, founder of BelieveNBooks, with a copy of her children’s book, Tales of African Women Trailblazers. The book highlights African-born women who have overcome adversity. She is 17 and a senior at Canterbury in Fort Myers, Florida.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
2 of 6
— BOOKGIRLWGCU1021AM
A few pages in her book. Natasha Agarwal, founder of BelieveNBooks, with a copy of her children’s book, Tales of African Women Trailblazers. The book highlights African-born women who have overcome adversity. She is 17 and a senior at Canterbury in Fort Myers, Florida.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
3 of 6
— BOOKGIRLWGCU1021AM
Natasha Agarwal (r.), founder of BelieveNBooks, and her mother, Aditi Maheshwari. Natasha's children’s book, Tales of African Women Trailblazers, will be distributed all across Africa. The book highlights African-born women who have overcome adversity. She is 17 and a senior at Canterbury in Fort Myers, Florida.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
4 of 6
— BOOKGIRLWGCU1021AM
A few pages in her book. Natasha Agarwal, founder of BelieveNBooks, with a copy of her children’s book, Tales of African Women Trailblazers. The book highlights African-born women who have overcome adversity. She is 17 and a senior at Canterbury in Fort Myers, Florida.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
5 of 6
— BOOKGIRLWGCU1021AM
Natasha Agarwal, founder of BelieveNBooks, published a children’s book, Tales of African Women Trailblazers that will be distributed all across Africa. The book highlights African-born women who have overcome adversity. She is 17 and a senior at Canterbury in Fort Myers, Florida.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
6 of 6
— BOOKGIRLWGCU1021AM
Natasha Agarwal, founder of BelieveNBooks, with a copy of her children’s book, Tales of African Women Trailblazers. The book highlights African-born women who have overcome adversity. She is 17 and a senior at Canterbury in Fort Myers, Florida.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
“She told us she planned to visit 50 schools and distribute 20 books to each school,“ Agarwal said.
In 2021, Agarwal started her publishing career by creating the nonprofit organization BelieveNBooks, which distributes books to underserved children. Together with the group, Agarwal continues to do book drives. They have distributed 120,000 books so far.
Agarwal hopes to continue a series that features women from other continents.
Order the book from Agarwal's website, BelieveNBooks. Proceeds from book sales will go to help distribution in Africa.
WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.
