We’re not the only ones who have been remembering Ann Richards this month. Here’s a round-up of what people have been saying about Richards’ and about Jan Reid’s new bio Let the People In: The Life and Times of Ann Richards. No surprise – seems everyone has an Ann Richards story to tell.
Sarah Weddington, the first woman elected to the Texas House from Austin/Travis County and who won the U.S. Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade, wrote a wonderful piece remembering Governor Richards forthe Texas Observer. Here’s a short excerpt, which highlights just one of so many reasons why we respect and celebrate Ann Richards’ work:
“Ann was essential as we formed the Texas Foundation for Women’s Resources (now the Foundation for Women’s Resources) and set about empowering women to be leaders and to open leadership positions to women. By 1977 we had made the original changes we had set out to make, and Ann was the central figure around whom we revolved.”
Weddington goes on to describe the legacy Ann has left with her daughter, Cecile Richards, President of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. This is a wonderful piece, one of our favorite pieces of recent coverage.
Our friends Liz and Gianna over at Liz and Gianna’s Adventures in Bookland (a blog you should be reading if you’re not already) have a great post up where they each share their memories of Richards’ and thoughts about Let the People In. Gianna works for UT Press and so has an insider’s perspective on the book:
“I’ve worked on many books and it’s a rare thing for one to elicit such personal and profound feelings. I can tell you there is nothing, absolutely nothing better, than when a book you’ve watched so many people work incredibly hard on totally hits the mark; Let the People In is that book. It’s a perfect book for right now.”
Texas Monthly has a Q&A up with author Jan Reid. (Note the interviewer, Senior Editor John Spong, another author with a book out from UT Press, this one about the making of Lonesome Dove ; Spong will also be speaking and signing books here soon.) Reid talks about some of what he learned in his research:
“When I dug into her life for the book, it turned out she’d always been right in the swirl of history. She’d been in the crowd waiting for Kennedy’s speech in Dallas…She and David had been involved with Kennedy’s New Frontier and Johnson’s Great Society and moved back and forth from DC to Dallas, and then finally to Austin, where she ran Sarah Weddington’s legislative office while Sarah was winning Roe vs. Wade. She worked to pass the Equal Rights Amendment as a member of Jimmy Carter’s Advisory Council for Women. And she was on the board of the Armadillo World Headquarters.”
The Dallas Morning Newscalls Let the People In is a “fun and fascinating read.”
We agree. We’re very much looking forward to welcoming author Jan Reid to BookPeople on Wednesday, October 17 at 7pm to speak about and sign Let the People In. We hope you can join us in this celebration of the life and important work of Governor Richards’.
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