Using Friction to Grow book cover

LDS Women 1968–1976  ·  Stories of Strength & Resilience

New Release  ·  March 10, 2026

Using Friction
to Grow

A Case Study of LDS Women in the Early 1970s

What happens when women stay rooted in faith while pushing against the cultural expectations that tell them otherwise? Fourteen remarkable women. Careers in law, medicine, academia. An era of the ERA, civil rights, and Vietnam. One radical idea: friction is not failure. It's proof of movement.

BCC Press
March 10, 2026
Amazon & Audible
Order on Amazon Listen on Audible

About the Book

Stories history
almost lost

The years between 1968 and 1976 were full of upheaval. The Equal Rights Amendment, civil rights, Vietnam, the early waves of second-wave feminism. Inside LDS communities, women faced their own kind of pressure: a faith that pointed them one direction while the world outside was opening up entirely new ones.

Using Friction to Grow captures the untold stories of LDS women who navigated that tension with grace, personal revelation, and deep conviction. These were women who refused to choose. They were married and pursued careers. They stayed in their faith communities and blazed new trails in law, medicine, academia, and business.

"Friction is not a sign of failure. It's proof of movement. These women don't just survive resistance. They use it as fuel."

This is not a book of apologetics. It's a book of lived principle, told through real women who figured it out one faithful step at a time. If you've ever wondered whether faith and calling can truly coexist, this book is your answer. These are your giants. Stand on their shoulders.

Women Interviewed

Christine Durham
Utah's first female Chief Justice Dr. Elizabeth Hammond
Harvard-trained pathologist Kathleen Flake
Inaugural Bushman Chair of Mormon Studies, UVA Anne Osborn Poelman
First female President, American Neuroradiology Assoc. Claudia Bushman
Author, professor & activist Jill Mulvay Derr
Historian, BYU & LDS Church History Dept. Judy Dushku
Professor & community builder, Boston Christine Durham
First female Chief Justice, Utah Supreme Court Susan Easton Black
First female Professor of Religion, BYU Nora Cummings
EVP, Nordstrom Mercedes Lorenzana
UN PanAmerican Health Organization, 34-year career + Three more
pioneers across nursing, banking & academia

Praise

What readers
are saying

Friction to Grow is a reminder that faith isn't about ease — it's about endurance, love, and growth. These women stayed, wrestled, and found strength in the struggle. Their courage inspires all of us to hold on to what's good while working to make it better.

Steve Young

Hall of Fame NFL quarterback, humanitarian & author of The Law of Love

Where was this book when I was in my 20s and 30s? I will be recommending it to every woman of faith who dreams of an 'and' life. All-in on the Gospel, all-in on family, and all-in on her work. Inspiring!

Whitney Johnson

CEO, Disruption Advisors; Thinkers50 Leading Management Thinker; host, Disrupt Yourself podcast

I loved how Friction to Grow celebrates women who stayed rooted in faith while stretching toward possibility. I'll be sharing it with my daughters, friends, and every woman learning to trust her own divine direction.

Kristin Andrus

CEO, Gathering for Impact; Chairman, Andrus Foundation

This book is filled with inspiring stories of Latter-day Saint women who took unique, courageous, and transformative paths — rooted in personal revelation and conviction. A must-read for anyone seeking faith-based examples of how to live a life of conviction, boldness, and purpose.

Susan Madsen

Professor of Organizational Leadership; Director, Utah Women & Leadership Project, Utah State University

Using Friction to Grow documents courageous role models whose voices and stories will inspire generations of women to nurture their talents. I am excited to share this book with friends who are discerning their vocations to contribute to the public sphere.

Miranda Wilcox, PhD

Associate Professor of English, BYU; Advisory Board, Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

Robin Ritch's beautiful book is a reminder that the generation before us struggled with challenges similar in size and significance to those we face today. I can't wait for my children but also my college students to read this.

Dr. Lynne Hilton Wilson

Co-founder, Scripture Central; Associate Professor of Ancient Scripture, BYU

Robin's beautiful book draws out lessons we can use today. Women who faced their times with grace, forgiveness, patience, and a resolve to bring about change. They overcame structural, cultural, and traditional barriers with resilient faith and love.

Dow R. Wilson

Former CEO & Chairman, Varian Systems; former Area Seventy, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Ritch weaves together powerful narratives of tension, faith, and growth. I've long felt a gap in biographies of modern, faithful Latter-day Saint women, and I'm grateful for this thoughtful work in helping to bridge it.

Mary Stallings

Author and founder of Come Follow Me Daily

This book is a fantastic conversation starter. I'm excited to share it with my husband and other men as we collectively break down barriers of culture to make the world a place that accepts the dreams, talents, and skill sets of women.

Mackenzie Bauer

Co-founder, Thread Wallets; Forbes 30 Under 30 & community champion

Robin Ritch

Robin Ritch, Author

About the Author

Robin
Ritch

Robin Ritch has spent her career building things that matter. She has led teams at Microsoft, Intel, and Cisco, and most recently served as President and Publisher of Deseret News Publishing Company, where she helped transform a 172-year-old institution into a nationally recognized digital voice.

Throughout her career, Robin has had a knack for seeing around corners. She has launched new products, modernized organizations, and brought together unlikely communities around conversations that matter.

She gives back through board service at The Policy Project, WikiCharities, Wasatch Innovation Network, and Mission Edge, organizations working to make communities stronger.

For as long as she can remember, Robin has been fascinated by women and their relationship with God. That lifelong curiosity is what led her to write this book. Using Friction to Grow is her first.

Education BS Finance, Brigham Young University
MBA, University of Washington
Published By BCC Press
March 10, 2026
Career Microsoft · Intel · Cisco
Deseret News Publishing Co.
Community The Policy Project · WikiCharities
Wasatch Innovation Network

Media & Podcast

Book Robin
for your podcast

Robin is a natural storyteller with decades of leadership experience and a genuine love for these women's stories. Whether you host a faith podcast, a women's leadership show, or a history program, she brings warmth, substance, and a conversation your listeners won't forget.

Faith & LDS Shows

  • What does "the Church is true" really mean?
  • Personal revelation vs. institutional narrative
  • How women can stay when the friction is real
  • The "and" life: faith, family & calling

Women & Leadership Shows

  • Using resistance as rocket fuel
  • The ROI of staying in imperfect institutions
  • Why the 1970s mirror today's tensions
  • How a true partner changes everything

History & Culture Shows

  • The ERA fight from inside an LDS household
  • How correlation reshaped women's roles
  • Race, the priesthood ban & women's response
  • Stories history almost lost

Ready to bring these stories to your audience?
Let's make it happen.

Get in Touch

Contact

Let's
connect

Whether you'd like to book Robin for your podcast, invite her to speak, order books in bulk, or just say hello, she'd love to hear from you.

Order on Amazon Listen on Audible