Books by public figures, especially when written with help from others — Lauren Peterson is a speechwriter — are often pretty deadly, but Make Trouble manages to be genial, engaging and humorous ... Her portrait of Nancy Pelosi as a nice person, a thoughtful boss and a brilliant strategist largely responsible for the passage of the Affordable Care Act (without the Stupak amendment that would have banned insurance coverage for abortion) is a pleasant corrective to the increasingly common view of her as an incompetent witch ... battles are something I wish Richards had gone into more deeply. Although she opens with her appearance before the congressional committee investigating Planned Parenthood for profiting from fetal remains — the same committee that investigated Hillary Clinton over Benghazi, with as little to show for it — her take is basically upbeat ... if you’re looking for books to fill you with energy for the long haul that lies before us, this one is a great place to start.
Ann Richards’s fans will enjoy Cecile’s account of her mother’s political career and the amazing Texas women who played supporting roles, including Barbara Jordan and Molly Ivins. Cecile Richards recounts the painful decision of friends and family to stage an intervention and start her mother on a path to sobriety (Ann Richards called it 'drunk school') ... Almost as interesting are Richards’s lists of things to know about political organizing, learned from her mother’s experience and from working with women like former House speaker Nancy Pelosi ... This is a woman who has a way with maxims ... Cecile Richards is nowhere near saying that a new day is coming in the wake of women’s marches and pink knitted hats. She does say that now women have enormous power and it’s time to use it — presumably to make trouble.
An intimate yet wide-ranging chronicle of a life in the trenches and at the pinnacle of her profession, Richards’ enthralling memoir will provide rousing motivation for anyone passionate about social and political causes.
...the heart of Richards’ book is her mother, whose improbable rise to power her daughter recounts with a balance of nuance and outright admiration ... Gov. Richards is remembered as a fiery straight-talking anomaly, but the one Cecile Richards remembers is more complicated: an incredibly competent, but self-doubting woman, whose status as a divorcée and a recovering alcoholic was considered political kryptonite ... That was Ann Richards’ second act. I can’t wait to see what her daughter’s will look like.
The author sprinkles short asides throughout the book that alternate between genuinely instructional and boring—e.g., well-worn tips on work-life balance. However, the guidelines for starting any organization are spot-on: direct, down-to-earth, and highly practical ... A memoir that makes palpable the immense influence of an organization that has improved so many women’s lives.
Richards’s commitment to progressive values, particularly reproductive rights, is evident throughout this book. It serves as a call to action for women who are mobilizing to make a difference in government and healthcare policies.
