Hope and Hard Truth

Mary Beth Rogers has led an eventful life rooted in the weeds of Texas politics, occasionally savoring a few victoriesparticularly the 1990 governors race when, as campaign manager for Ann Richards, she did the impossible and put a Democratic woman in office. She also learned to absorb her lossesafter all, she was a liberal feminist in Americas most aggressively conservative state. Rogerss road to a political life was complex. Candidly and vulnerably, she shares both public and private memories of how she tried to maintain a rich family life with growing children and a husband with a debilitating illness. She goes on to provide an insiders account of her experiences as Richardss first chief of staff while weaving her way through the highs and lows of political intrigue and legislative maneuvering. Reflecting on her family heritage and nascent spiritual quest, Rogers discovers a reality at once sobering and invigorating: nothing is ever completely lost or completely won. It is a constant struggle to create humane public policies built on a foundation of fairness and justiceparticularly in her beloved Texas.