Make Trouble
Standing Up, Speaking Out, and Finding the Courage to Lead—My Life Story
1 of 2 copies available
Cecile Richards has been an activist since she was taken to the principal's office in seventh grade for wearing an armband in protest of the Vietnam War. Richards had an extraordinary childhood in ultra-conservative Texas, where her civil rights attorney father and activist mother taught their kids to be troublemakers. She had a front-row seat to observe the rise of women in American politics and watched her mother, Ann, transform from a housewife to an electrifying force in the Democratic party.
As a young woman, Richards worked as a labor organizer alongside women earning minimum wage, and learned that those in power don't give it up without a fight. She experienced first-hand the misogyny, sexism, fake news, and the ever-looming threat of violence that constantly confront women who challenge authority.
Now, after years of advocacy, resistance, and progressive leadership, she shares her "truly inspiring" (Redbook) story for the first time—from the joy and heartbreak of activism to the challenges of raising kids, having a life, and making change, all the while garnering a reputation as "the most badass feminist EVER" (Teen Vogue).
In the "powerful and infinitely readable" (Gloria Steinem) Make Trouble, Richards reflects on the people and lessons that have gotten her through good times and bad, and encourages the rest of us to take risks, make mistakes, and make trouble along the way.
-
Creators
-
Publisher
-
Release date
April 3, 2018 -
Formats
-
OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781508250791
- File size: 287838 KB
- Duration: 09:59:39
-
-
Languages
- English
-
Reviews
-
Cecile Richards, longtime president of Planned Parenthood, delivers a terrific performance of her inspiring new memoir. While not a professional narrator, Richards is a practiced public speaker who reads with energy, enunciation, excellent pacing, and emotion as she tracks her career in rabble-rousing from its start at home in Waco, Texas. The child of political activists--her father, a lawyer, often represented unions, and her mother famously became a left-leaning governor of Texas--Richards began her own trouble-making career by getting kicked out of school for protesting the Vietnam War. What a ride it's been since. Richards is fierce, funny, and pulls no punches, which will offend some and motivate many for whom this stirring audiobook will serve as a call to action. A.C.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine -
March 12, 2018
In this passionate self-portrait, activist Richards maps her road to success from union organizer to her tenure as president of Planned Parenthood, recalling the experiences that shaped her career. She opens with the 2015 congressional hearings in which Planned Parenthood faced fierce scrutiny from the heavily Republican committee, sparked by a smear video released by an anti-abortion group. The committee found no wrongdoing, and the outpouring of popular support led Richards to reflect on her career. From there, she goes back to her upbringing as the eldest child of politician Ann Richards, who later became the first female governor of Texas, and civil rights attorney David Richards. Their Dallas home was “the local gathering place for misfits and rabble-rousers.” As Richards relays her college years and onwards, her focus remains squarely on human rights—she met her husband while working for the United Labor Union in New Orleans, and she moved back to Texas to start a family and launch the Texas Freedom Alliance to support public education and religious liberty. Richards’s commitment to progressive values, particularly reproductive rights, is evident throughout this book. It serves as a call to action for women who are mobilizing to make a difference in government and healthcare policies. Photos.
-