Margaret Atwood put it best when she said: “Don’t let the bastards grind you down.”

Known for her words – and not mincing them – the author has become a cultural icon of our time. Her novels such as The Handmaid’s Tale – and the Emmy-winning television adaptation – and, more recently, its sequel, The Testaments, have become core texts being wielded by a new generation of female activists.

And yet, we came disturbingly close to never knowing the impact of Atwood’s dystopian worlds. Specifically, if she had followed the advice of one particular teacher, who told her to “just forget about the whole writing […] and graduate school thing” and instead “find a good man and get married”.

Margaret Atwood’s most empowering quotes to live by