Gloria Steinem

Harvard Book Store and WAM: Women, Action & the Media welcome renowned activist leader, organizer, and writer GLORIA STEINEM and WAM Executive Director JAMIA WILSON for a discussion of Steinem's memoir, My Life on the Road.

Gloria Steinem had an itinerant childhood. When she was a young girl, her father would pack the family in the car every fall and drive across country searching for adventure and trying to make a living. The seeds were planted: Gloria realized that growing up didn’t have to mean settling down. And so began a lifetime of travel, of activism and leadership, of listening to people whose voices and ideas would inspire change and revolution.
 
My Life on the Road is the moving, funny, and profound story of Gloria’s growth and also the growth of a revolutionary movement for equality—and the story of how surprising encounters on the road shaped both. From her first experience of social activism among women in India to her work as a journalist in the 1960s; from the whirlwind of political campaigns to the founding of Ms. magazine; from the historic 1977 National Women’s Conference to her travels through Indian Country—a lifetime spent on the road allowed Gloria to listen and connect deeply with people, to understand that context is everything, and to become part of a movement that would change the world.
 
In prose that is revealing and rich, Gloria reminds us that living in an open, observant, and “on the road” state of mind can make a difference in how we learn, what we do, and how we understand each other.

Advance Praise

“A personal, beautiful look at the deceptively radical act of travel and how it formed one of our most important voices for human rights. By delving deeper into her own thrilling story, Steinem shows us that we all have a fighter inside us—we need only pack our bags and follow her.”—Lena Dunham

“Rarely do women have the opportunity to travel as Steinem has done—living a life full of radical adventure. Everywhere she goes, she carries with her the vitality of democracy,  of freedom for women and men, and her profound love of justice. Now she offers us the good fortune of journeying with her. An inspiring work, a call for action, Steinem shares her life as a global freedom fighter, inviting readers to continue the journey—and the struggle.”—bell hooks

“It's amazing to have a lifelong heroine who is also one of my favorite writers. Gloria Steinem is a deeply revolutionary woman. She steered us through the contentious years of the women's movement without losing her humanity or her wonderful sense of humor. She changed America in a fundamental way without being damaged by it, or losing her joy. My Life on the Road is filled with beautifully told stories of the people she has spoken with and listened to, been changed by, helped organize, got radicalized by, could get lost in, could get found in. It is soul material, human and political, funny and touching, deeply spiritual. I began it again the day after I finished.”—Anne Lamott

“Gloria Steinem’s new book is a lightning rod to the head and heart—stimulating, no, shocking us to get up out of our easy chairs, and do something meaningful with our lives—to hit the road. Women will read My Life on the Road, but men must.”—James Patterson

“Powerfully personal yet universally appealing . . . Steinem, a staunch advocate for reproductive rights and equal rights for women, long before either was fashionable in the public eye . . . strives to create positive, meaningful change. Her inviting prose is easy and enjoyable to read, even when the subject matter veers towards the painful.”—Publishers Weekly