Elizabeth Warren is a fighter, whether in her personal life or for middle class Americans. From the very beginning of her law career, she’s been researching and making a difference for regular folks like you and me.
As the author of many books, Warren has plenty of writing chops. But this one, A Fighting Chance, is her personal story rather than an academic tome. She intertwines her life with buckets of information about the way U.S. economics is stacked against the 99%. Listening to her tell the story on the audiobook, I heard how deeply she cares about this topic. It’s really her life’s work. And now she’s taken it to Washington, and maybe the White House.
Warren comes from modest means. Going to college over the objections of her mother, she paid $50 for each semester’s classes. She acknowledges how critical this step was to her life, which later included two marriages, two kids, grandkids, a law degree, and law school professorships. There’s also obvious affection in her stories of the dogs in her life.
But the bulk of A Fighting Chance is her work in support of fairer bankruptcy laws, oversight of the Great Recession’s bank bailout, and the founding of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. She ends the book with her Massachusetts Senate campaign and the resulting win.
My conclusions
One of my good friends and a fellow politically active grandma has been on the Warren train for ages. She keeps nudging me to learn more. And I’m glad I did. The YouTube rabbit hole of talks and interviews is a great resource. But I’m glad I started here with Warren’s passionate and polished words.
I first heard about Elizabeth Warren when she appeared on The Late Show with Jon Stewart. I thought to myself, “This woman knows how to explain these complex economic concepts.” And she was even a little bit funny. That’s essentially the tone this book sets as well.
She lays out the details of complicated economic ideas. But, fundamentally it all comes down to “the system is rigged in favor of big corporations and millionaires.” However, Warren hammers her point home without becoming tedious.
If you’re looking for insight into Elizabeth Warren’s pre-politics background, you’ll find it here. I recommend the audiobook, but if you want her pictures and extensive footnotes, print is the way to go.
Reading Warren is a part of my #readthecandidates project, along with as many other books from the long Democratic list as I can squeeze into my schedule. This is my fourth so far, following Buttigieg, Harris, and Sanders. Next up are Castro, Booker, and Klobuchar—as soon as the books arrive from Thriftbooks.
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