Immediately I would suggest the authors Marge Piercy or Toni Morrison. Often heart breaking, both authors have really well depicted female characters. Piercy's 'Gone To Soldiers' is a personal favourite that I can thoroughly recommend, although it can be a bit difficult to get hold of.
Young adult titles I would include Beth Revis' 'Across The Universe' - you don't get much trickier situations than this young lady faces!
Another brilliant series with one of my favourite characters is the Japser Fforde Thursday Next series, starting with 'The Eyre Affair'.
I'll have a think on this, and see what else I can recommend.