355 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 21 cm
Note
Includes reading group guide.
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 327-329) and index.
Contents
Starting early -- The Rays and the Rices -- Married at last -- "Johnny, it's a girl" -- "I need a piano!" -- My parents were teachers -- Something in the water -- School days -- Summer respite -- Turning up the heat in Birmingham -- 1963 -- Integration? -- Tuscaloosa -- Denver again -- Leaving the South behind -- Cancer intrudes -- Starting early (again) -- College years -- A change of direction -- "Rally, sons (and daughters) of Notre Dame" -- A new start -- A lost year -- Senator Stanford's farm -- My rookie season -- The darkest moment of my life -- "The moving van is here" -- Inside the Pentagon -- Back to Stanford -- D.C. again -- "I don't think this is what Karl Marx had in mind" -- Back in California -- Learning compassion -- Finding a new president for Stanford -- Provost of the university -- Tough decisions -- The governor's campaign -- Florida -- "The Saints Go Marching In."
Summary
The personal story of the former Secretary of State traces her childhood in segregated Alabama, describes the influence of people who shaped her life, and pays tribute to her parents' characters and sacrifices.