Ballantine Books
September 2014
On Sale: September 9, 2014
224 pages ISBN: 0804179077 EAN: 9780804179072 Kindle: B00J1ISM4I Hardcover / e-Book Add to Wish List
Fourteen years before Kirsten Gillibrand succeeded Hillary
Rodham Clinton as senator from New York, she heard her
future mentor say these life-changing words: “Decisions are
being made every day in Washington, and if you are not part
of those decisions, you might not like what they decide, and
you’ll have no one to blame but yourself.” A young corporate
lawyer at the time, Gillibrand felt as if she’d been struck
by lightning. She instantly knew that her voice—all women’s
voices—were essential to shaping the future of this country,
and that she had a greater purpose in life: to speak up and
effect change. Now, in this extraordinary memoir, the
senator, wife, and mother of two recounts her personal
journey in public service and galvanizes women to reach
beyond their busy lives and make a meaningful difference in
the world around them.
Off the Sidelines is a playbook for women who want to step
up, whether in Congress or the boardroom or the local PTA.
If women were fully represented in politics, Gillibrand
says, national priorities would shift to issues that
directly impact them: affordable daycare, paid family
medical leave, and equal pay. Pulling back the curtain on
Beltway politics, she speaks candidly about her legislative
successes (securing federally funded medical care for 9/11
first responders, repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell) and her
crushing disappointments (failing by five votes to pass a
bill protecting survivors of sexual assault in the military).
Gillibrand also shares stories of growing up the daughter
and granddaughter of two trailblazing feminists in a
politically active family in Albany, New York, and retraces
her nonlinear path to public office. She lays bare the highs
and lows of being a young (pregnant!) woman in Congress, the
joys and sacrifices every working mother shares, and the
support system she turns to in her darkest moments: her
husband, their two little boys, and lots of girlfriends.
In Off the Sidelines, Gillibrand is the tough-love older
sister and cheerleader every woman needs. She explains why
“ambition” is not a dirty word, failure is a gift, listening
is the most effective tool, and the debate over women
“having it all” is absurd at best and demeaning at worst. In
her sharp, honest, and refreshingly relatable voice, she
dares us all to tap into our inner strength, find personal
fulfillment, and speak up for what we believe in.
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