Is the all-encompassing quest to become a self-sustained artist worth forsaking other aspects of our lives?

An intrepid travel writer embarks on a global search for women artists who have renounced almost everything for their creative pursuits—revealing the redemptive power of art

Women artists face particular pressure to give up their artistic goals in favor of motherhood, supporting a partner, or finding economic stability. Throughout her 20s and 30s, Stephanie Elizondo Griest could not help worrying if constantly prioritizing her writing over everything else—from postponing children to living nomadically to save on rent—was leading her to fulfillment or regret. The year she turned 40, she turned to other women artists around the globe for answers.

Art Above Everything shares her findings from more than 100 interviews across 10 different countries with women who have made significant sacrifices for their creative pursuits. Opening in a classical Indian dance village near Bangalore, the book continues onto Peru, Cuba, Rwanda, Romania, Qatar, Iceland, Mexico, and New Zealand.

Elizondo Griest learns how societal norms forbade the Qatari visual artist Jameela Al-Shraim from attending her own exhibitions for the first 18 years of her career, but how she kept painting until she became acelebrated ruwad, or pioneer. How the Rwandan playwright Hope Azeda navigated ethnic tensions as she attempted to bring about reconciliation through theater in the aftermath of genocide. How 80 Cuban women liberated belly dancing from the male gaze one raucous weekend in Havana.

As a collective, these artists speak dozens of languages and worship a spectrum of faiths, yet their resilience to create in the face of economic hardship, misogyny, sexual violence, and family ostracization are wholly akin. Bold and inspiring, Art Above Everything illuminates the infinite ways we can wield creativity as a vitalizing force.