My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem, a book review

I read Gloria Steinem rather too late in my life. This beautiful feminist (inside and out) writer, activist and organizer could have fitted perfectly as an icon I could have looked up to guide me in my youthful disquiet. (I am aware of the Hillary debacle, still I believe Gloria is glorious.)

My Life on the Road starts with the author's childhood gypsy life when her family was always traveling (she didn't go to a regular school till she was eleven or so) and progresses through native American country and various women's marches in the sixties and seventies across the United States

There is a section which delves into Gloria's experiences and ties with the Native American community, especially her friendship with Wilma Mankiller, first ever woman chief of the Cherokee Nation. Through pow-wows and potlucks and marches and demonstrations we get to see a peek into the real time workings of the twentieth century women's movement.

Gloria is all over the calendar and the map in this book. Chronology and organization is not what travels with Gloria is about. It is about taxicab conversations and having a front row seat at the history of the feminist movement and women's activism in the United States, walking in the shoes one of its principal crusaders.