The Notorious RBG

If you don't live in America or follow American politics like I do, you may not know who Ruth Bader Ginsburg is.

And if you do, you know how much of a bad ass she is.

I have just finished reading Notorious RBG: the Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Irin Varmon & Shana Knizhnik and was flawed at how freaking AH-MAZING this women is.

RBG as she is referred to in the book popped up on my radar last year during the Supreme Court's ruling on Obergfell vs Hodges case which granted marriage equality in all 50 states of America. As the news spread and more was being said about the marriage equality ruling, I heard more about Ruth Bader Ginsberg the warrior Supreme Court Judge who as one of the only two women on the panel has stood for marriage equality since the beginning.

There were hundred of articles about how amazing this women was and how she fought for so many in her tenure as a judge.

But it wasn't really until this book that I realise how much of a fighter and glass ceiling break RBG really was.

This is a women who came of age when women were expected to be housewives and support the family but saw herself doing more. She was one of 9 women in her 500 student Harvard Law class, while also raising a young family. 

Despite all that stood in front of her because of gender assumptions RBG fought for what she believed in. She co-founded the Women's Right Law Reporter as well as the Women's Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union, becoming their General Counsel in the 70's.  Through this organisation RGB fought for the cases she thought were right such as equal gender discrimination, abortion rights & pregnancy discrimination laws. 

Through all her incredible work defending women's and equal rights, RBG caught the eye of President Bill Clinton as his nominee for the empty seat as Associate Justice on the Supreme Court. This would make her the second women to sit on the panel at the time. She also was openly opinionated on her political positions and her male counterparts on the panel. Oh she was also the oldest judge on the panel at the age of 82 (You Go Girl!)

I mean just from that alone can you see why this women is extraordinary. She is a champion for the rights of so many deserving communities and serves her people so well. She is the epitome of grace and poise in politics, handling herself so well in this ever changing world.

The book all this information and love came from is also equality as extraordinary.  The way Carmon and Knizhnik have set it out mean it doesn't feel like a historical biography (which it is) and more like a friend telling another about this amazing person they know. Even the way it is presented doesn't make it boring in any sense of the word, the funny titles, quotes and images allow you to breeze through this book while learning so much about RBG and her life. The idea that is a historical book could be cast away in a heart beat if not for its timeline in the front and be seen as a inspirational book that should be compulsory reading for everyone in this world.

I was so inspired by this book and all the work RBG put into fight for what she believes is right.

It opened by eyes to a world before mine, yes of course there are still so many struggles in this world when it comes to women's rights but I can see how RBG paved the way for me being able to be the women I want to be and being able to live my life with my own choices.

I hope you all give this book and Ruth Bader Ginsburg a chance because you won't regret it one bit.

Love Louise xo

My Mother told me to be a lady. And for her, that meant be your own person, be independent.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg