Hon. Claire McCaskill

Hon. Claire McCaskill

United States Senator Claire McCaskill will discuss her new memoir, PLENTY LADYLIKE. Copies of her book will be available for $28. Senator McCaskill will sign copies of the book immediately following her remarks. In 2006, Claire McCaskill was the first woman from Missouri to be elected a United Sates Senator, a position she continues to hold. But getting to Congress—and staying there—wasn’t easy. In her straightforward and candid memoir, PLENTY LADYLIKE, McCaskill shares her inspiring story of embracing her ambition, surviving sexist slings, making a family, losing a husband, outsmarting her enemies, and finding joy along the way. Though McCaskill grew up versed in politics, her childhood was not during a time that welcomed women with big plans. Paying her way through law school by working as a waitress provided a glimpse of her unfettered determination. By 1982, McCaskill had set her sights on the Missouri House of Representatives. Knocking on doors for support, voters would typically say: “You’re too young,” or “your hair is too long.” Most frustrating, some would say, “You’re a girl….Go find yourself a husband.” As doors were slammed in her face, McCaskill always pressed on—first as a prosecutor of arsonists and rapists, and then all the way to the door of a cabal of Missouri politicians who held secret meetings scheming to block her legislation. Despite many challenges, McCaskill persevered. She was the first woman to serve as Jackson County Prosecutor, the second woman elected to be Missouri State Auditor, and the first woman from Missouri elected as a United States Senator. As a Senator, she has been influential in passing bills that aid wounded veterans, provide universal healthcare, and protect victims of sexual assault in the military. In her lively and forthright memoir, McCaskill describes trying to simultaneously manage her personal life—from her failed first marriage to a Kansas City car dealer (the father of her three children) to her current marriage to a Missouri businessman, whom she describes as “a life partner”—and also highlights moments of her career such as her ups and downs with Bill and Hillary Clinton; her decision to endorse Barack Obama for president; and the fun of joining the growing bipartisan sisterhood in the Senate. From the day she was named homecoming queen of her high school class to her longshot reelection as Senator after secretly helping to nominate a right wing extremist as her opponent, McCaskill has loved politics and winning. PLENTY LADYLIKE is unconventional: unsparing in its honesty, full of sharp humor and practical wisdom, and rousing in its defense of female ambition.