In this memoir, Geraldine A. Ferraro reflects on her experience as the first and only woman nominated by a major party to run on the presidential ticket. This book reveals the process that led to her nomination as the 1984 Democratic Vice-Presidential candidate and gives a revealing behind-the-scenes look at campaign politics, especially the ruthless criticism directed at her and her family. Ferraro brings to life the dynamics of the women in Congress and how the different life experiences that they bring to the table affect the policy making process. She also gives a real understanding of the pioneering women, including Bella Abzug, Gloria Steinem, Millie Jeffrey and many others who worked together to make sure that a women was on the Democratic ticket in 1984.

Ferraro's run for vice-president was an important moment in American history. The time is right for telling a new generation this story of women's collective political power and the difference women office holders can and do make to public policy.

Geraldine A. Ferraro is a lawyer who began her political career in 1978. Currently she is executive vice president of The Global Consulting Group and a political contributor to Fox News. Ferraro's other books include Geraldine Ferraro, Changing History (Moyer Bell, 1988) and Framing a Life: A Family Memoir (Schribner, 1998).

A former Newsweek editor, Linda Bird Francke is the author of several works of nonfiction. 

"Geraldine Ferraro is telling all. . .about her ill-fated vice-presidential campaign, and it is intriguing reading." —The Christian Science Monitor

"The story is a reminder that Ferraro, despite her flaws, usually handled her role as the first woman to run for the Vice President with grit, intelligence, and humor. . . . She wrote a new chapter on women in politics." —Maureen Dowd, New York Times Book Review

"Gerladine Ferraro's account of her nomination and campaign as candidate for the vice presidency of the United States is what used to be called a century ago a cautionary tale. The rapturous launch of the first ever woman vice-presidential candidate turned within days into a nightmare of allegations, insinuations, and very old skeletons pulled out of the family cupboard. . . . Indeed, Ferraro's description of the agony of combining relentless campaign demands with the strains of coping with newspaper scandal stories would stop any sensible person from ever entering high politics. How much of it was because the candidate was a woman?"  —Shirley Williams, Washington Post Book World