Make Trouble

Richards, president of Planned Parenthood from 2006 to 2018, here traces her life as an activist. Born in Waco, TX, in 1957, Richards was raised by progressive parents; her mother, Ann, was a feminist, and her father, David, a labor and civil rights attorney. She protested the Vietnam War and honed her skills as an activist at Brown University. One of her first jobs was as an organizer for the United Labor Union in New Orleans, where she met her husband, Kirk Adams. Richards organized nursing home staff in Southern California and repeatedly notes the courage of the workers who were willing to put themselves on the line at great cost to make change. Later, she moved to Austin to help her mother become the first female governor of Texas. Along the way, the author had a family, eventually relocating to Washington, DC, to work for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi; then on to New York to run Planned Parenthood. During her tenure at Planned Parenthood, Richards never wavered in her resolve to battle funding cuts to the organization and ensure that a woman's right to a safe and legal abortion is nonnegotiable.