6/28/2020

First: Sandra Day O'Connor by Evan Thomas

Eureka! ? ! This human may have been a unicorn in that she was both wildly successful and she also managed to be an involved parent. Those are qualities rarely found together - if you know of more people who manage to do both of these things, please tell me.

O’Connor:

• stayed home with her (three!) boys for the first five years

• always kept her family as top priority - lots of examples of her leaving important work things to do somewhat insignificant but kid-huge parent things

• booked flights for her clerks to see their kids’ plays - always pushed them to be parents first (though obviously still get the work done)

• “You shouldn’t be choosing - you should be able to do both.”

Personal Motto: “Never Complain. Never Explain.” (Swoon)

Quotes:

• “If you’re not curious, you’re not smart.”

• “Do something. Help someone.” -always pushed her clerks to pursue jobs to help people vs cushy, high-paying firms

Funny things:

• SDO’s clerks put a photocopied picture of her hand on the wall, with the phrase “If you want a pat on the back, lean here.”

• RBG learned to drive when she became a Supreme Court Justice. Apparently her parking space was between SDO and Scalia, and she was so scared to hit Scalia’s car that she repeatedly hit Sandra’s.

There There by Tommy Orange

This was recommended to me many times over, but I somehow never read a description (!) and kept pushing it off. It was beautifully done, and a devastating read. It reminded me of Neither Wolf Nor Dog.