My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem

Gloria Steinem just goes. Whenever asked and wherever to. She is the last of a breed that believes to make a difference you must be present (that is in person) at conversations, confrontations, conferences, and celebrations.

I was not a Ms. magazine reader, nor do I claim to know much about Steinem beyond the aviator glasses, but her book My Life on the Road is an inspiration—to get out there.

The book is a series of vignettes rather than a sustained narrative. Some stories are a just a paragraph, for example, surprising conversations with taxi drivers.

Of special interest to me are Steinem’s stories from the early days of the women’s movement, which being a self-absorbed teenager at the time passed me by. Told in Steinem’s low key manner, her tales from the 1977 National Women’s conference in Houston, the founding of the NWPC and her cross country travels promoting the ERA are fascinating.

With her inquisitive but non-confrontational manner, the world will be a poorer place without Steinem’s eyes and ears on the road.