Before she became one of the most influential feminist leaders of our time, Gloria Steinem spent her childhood traveling the country with her itinerant father, caring for her mother, and discovering the world through books.
In a candid, inspiring reflection on her life, she talks to Emmy Award-winning broadcasting legend Katie Couric about her new memoir, An Unexpected Life — and the pivotal years that shaped an entire era of feminist activism.
With warmth, wit, and hard-earned wisdom, Steinem opens up about her early life — from her family’s encounters with poverty and medical neglect to the transformative years she spent in India learning the principles of nonviolence to the 1970 Women’s March honoring the right to vote — experiences that radically expanded her understanding of power, community, and collective action. Moving seamlessly between her own most intimate experiences and a history of her time and place in American life, An Unexpected Life offers a vivid account of the movements that reshaped opportunities for women — and a clear-eyed vision for how feminism can work to advanced human rights for everyone, regardless of gender, around the world.
How can the challenges that Steinem face inform the world that young leaders are trying to build today? What new possibilities can a new generation of changemakers harness? In conversation with Couric, one of the most incisive interviewers of her generation, Steinem reflects on the stories behind her memoir, the lessons of a lifetime in activism, and the challenges — and opportunities — that lie ahead for the next generation.