An Unexpected Life: A Memoir

In her final memoir, Gloria Steinem offers a candid, inspiring portrait of her early life and journey as an activist, while looking ahead to the next chapters of the fight for equality—a rare opportunity to learn directly from one of feminism’s most enduring voices.

“In revisiting the equal-rights movements Steinem helped build, she offers wisdom to new generations.”—Vanity Fair

“An Unexpected Life is a luminous act of remembrance and generosity.”—Roxane Gay, New York Times bestselling author of Bad Feminist

Before she became a feminist leader, Gloria Steinem was a curious child: going on road trips with her itinerant father, caring for her mother, and devouring every book she could find. In An Unexpected Life, Steinem reflects on the unlikely experiences and pivotal moments—from a childhood rat bite that opened her eyes to the dangers of poverty to the 1970 Women’s March honoring the right to vote—that shaped the visionary woman she would become.

She shares her years living in India, learning from the nonviolent movement there, and her travels around the world advocating for women’s rights. Along the way, she honors the people who influenced her most, including trailblazers, writers, and thinkers who expanded her understanding of power, community, justice, and solidarity.

Moving between past and present, Steinem examines the progress and setbacks of six decades of activism. As she reflects on the movements she helped build and the victories won for women’s and human rights, she also looks ahead, urging new generations to imagine bolder, more inclusive paths forward.

Intimate, funny, and rich with hard-earned wisdom, An Unexpected Life offers inspiration as we continue the work of building a better future for all.

Gloria Marie Steinem (born March 25, 1934) is an American feminist, journalist, and social and political activist who became nationally recognized as a leader and spokeswoman for the feminist movement in the late 1960s and early 70s.

She was a columnist for New York magazine and a founder of Ms. magazine. In 1969, she published an article, "After Black Power, Women's Liberation," which brought her to national fame as a feminist leader.

In 2005, Steinem, Jane Fonda, and Robin Morgan co-founded the Women's Media Center, an organization that works "to make women visible and powerful in the media."

Steinem currently travels internationally as an organizer and lecturer and is a media spokeswoman on issues of equality.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Ms. Foundation for Women (GloriaAwards_DN-250) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

“An Unexpected Life is a luminous act of remembrance and generosity. Gloria Steinem writes with the clarity of someone who has lived many lives inside one: daughter, caregiver, traveler, organizer, writer, friend, witness and revolutionary. This is a fiercely beautiful book about how we survive, how we learn, how we keep faith with one another, and how an unexpected life can become a formidable force for freedom and connection.”—Roxane Gay, New York Times bestselling author of Bad Feminist

“In revisiting the equal-rights movements Steinem helped build, she offers wisdom to new generations about what the next chapters of the fight for equality will demand.”—Vanity Fair

“Gloria Steinem has long been, and will forever be, the light guiding the way for so many of us. Her energy, passion, clarity, and unrelenting optimism have invigorated generations of women to channel our rage into change. Her entire life has been a love letter and a battle cry. The fight is far from over, but she has instilled me with an absolute certainty that we can win.”—Jameela Jamil, actor, writer, and advocate

“Steinem’s stirring reflections offer a road map for future generations to forge a better future by learning from the curiosity, empathy, and commitment to community that motivated the author and her contemporaries. . . . Both an engrossing self-portrait and a useful political handbook, this is essential reading.”—Publishers Weekly

“Vignettes from a life of activism, writing, speaking, and service, mined for insights and advice . . . Steinem’s second memoir, following My Life on the Road, is a mostly grateful, sometimes rueful accounting of the people and places that have shaped her ninety-two years on earth. . . . Moving . . . includes interesting stories about James Baldwin, Wilma Mankiller, and Simone de Beauvoir . . . down to earth, heartfelt, and illuminated by a lifelong commitment to principles.”—Kirkus Reviews