USE THE POWER YOU HAVE

The first Indian American woman elected to the House of Representatives chronicles the path that led her to commit to fight for a more inclusive society.

In 1982, Jayapal came to the U.S. to begin her studies at Georgetown. After graduating, she decided to “fulfill my promise to my father by parlaying my liberal arts degree…to the top investment banks in New York City as the foundation of other success.” Realizing investment banking was not right for her, she “did the next most expected thing” and went to business school. Jayapal also tutored poor children on Chicago’s South Side, where she discovered that her true calling was to help the underserved. An internship with a nonprofit organization serving refugees in Thailand and a fellowship to study villages in India followed. Her political activism emerged in the wake of 9/11, when she became the force behind the campaign to make Seattle and Washington state at large “Hate Free Zones.” Jayapal quickly learned “how to build movements and apply political pressure,” even if that meant going to jail. Within a decade, she became a vocal advocate for Seattle’s Sanctuary Cities ordinances and the Fight for $15 movement. In 2014, she was elected to the Washington Senate on a progressive platform. She caught the attention of Bernie Sanders, who helped her fundraise for a successful 2016 House run. Now a tireless fighter for everything from immigration and Medicare reform to livable incomes for all, Jayapal sets forth a vision to create “an America more just…than the one we were handed.” At the end, she offers a list of political lessons for all, but especially for female change-makers of color. Passionate and unapologetically leftist, this hopeful book not only chronicles an immigrant’s political successes, but, more significantly, the enduring faith in American democracy that inspired them.

A passionately articulate memoir and political manifesto.