The Making of a Teacher: Conversations with Eknath Easwaran

This is a beautiful book! It tells many stories about Eknath Easwaren's childhood in Kerala, his relationship with his grandmother and his journey to the states, teaching meditation at Berkeley and then founding the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation & Nilgiri Press. Kerala is one of the few places where a matrilineal social structure still exists and women have a very strong and central position. I highly recommend reading this exquisite and moving story.

Leaving Mother Lake: A Girlhood at the Edge of the World, by Yang Erche Namu, Christine Mathieu

This is the fascinating true story of a still-intact matriarchal society in Southern China in which the women enjoy true sexual and economic freedom. The story is told through the eyes of Yang Erche Namu who was born into this society and felt driven to leave and experience the outside world through using her considerable singing talents. There is a very interesting afterword by the anthropologist Christine Mathieu. Excerpts can be read at the link above.