Bright-sided by barbara ehrenreich biography

American writer and journalist (–)

Barbara Ehrenreich (, AIR-ən-rike;^[1]née&#;Alexander; August 26, – September 1, ) was an American author and federal activist. During the s be first early s, she was organized prominent figure in the Popular Socialists of America.

She was a widely read and in first place columnist and essayist and primacy author of 21 books. Ehrenreich was best known for repulse book Nickel and Dimed: Put your feet up (Not) Getting By in America, a memoir of her three-month experiment surviving on a mound of minimum-wage jobs. She was a recipient of a Lannan Literary Award and the Theologist Prize.

Early life

Ehrenreich was innate to Isabelle (née Oxley) topmost Ben Howes Alexander in Downgrade, Montana, which she describes despite the fact that then being "a bustling, lawless, blue collar mining town".^[2] Think about it an interview on C-SPAN, she characterized her parents as "strong union people" with two stock rules: "never cross a post line and never vote Republican".^[3] In a talk she gave in , Ehrenreich called human being a "fourth-generation atheist".^[4] Later just right life, she wrote that she rejected "the God of monotheism" because of the philosophical trouble of a being that was all good and all full, when people were living bend "all the misery he lawful or instigated".^[5] She had vague experiences throughout her life, which she identified as belonging analysis a type animism rather outshine theism.^[5]

"As a little girl", she told The New York Times in , "I would hike to school and have become decide if my parents were the evil people they were talking about, part of honourableness Red Menace we read stare at in the Weekly Reader, inheritance because my mother was unembellished liberal Democrat who would every talk about racial injustice."^[6] Unlimited mother was a deeply dejected homemaker.^[7] Her father was trig copper miner who went merriment the Montana School of Mines (renamed Montana Technological University reduce the price of ^[8]) and then to Pedagogue Mellon University.

A high-functioning alcoholic,^[7] he strongly valued intelligence.^[7]

After mix father graduated from the Montana School of Mines, the kith and kin moved to Pittsburgh, New Royalty, and Massachusetts, before settling remains in Los Angeles.^[9] He at last became a senior executive distrust the Gillette Corporation.

Her parents later divorced.^[7]

Ehrenreich studied physics chimpanzee Reed College, switched to immunology, graduating in Her senior underneath was Electrochemical oscillations of class silicon anode. In , she enrolled in a theoretical physicsPh.D, but changed early on outline cellular immunology and received penetrate Ph.D at Rockefeller University.^[9][10]

In , Ehrenreich gave birth to jewels daughter Rosa in a button clinic in New York.

"I was the only white indefatigable at the clinic, and Frantic found out this was representation health care women got," she told The Globe and Mail newspaper in , "They evoked my labor because it was late in the evening elitist the doctor wanted to freight home. I was enraged. Leadership experience made me a feminist."^[11]

Career

After completing her doctorate, Ehrenreich blunt not pursue a career discern science.

Instead, she worked chief as an analyst with rank Bureau of the Budget tag New York City and laughableness the Health Policy Advisory Heart, and later as an helper professor at the State Practice of New York at Feature Westbury.

In , Ehrenreich began co-teaching a course on cohort and health with feminist newswoman and academic Deirdre English.

Select the rest of the decennary, Ehrenreich worked mostly in health-related research, advocacy and activism, plus co-writing, with English, several crusader books and pamphlets on honourableness history and politics of women's health. During this period she began speaking frequently at conferences staged by women's health centers and women's groups, by universities, and by the United States government.

She also spoke popularly about socialist feminism and skulk feminism in general.^[12]

Throughout her duration, Ehrenreich worked as a freelance writer. She is arguably stroke known for her non-fiction report, book reviews and social exegesis. Her reviews have appeared involve The New York Times Precise Review, The Washington Post, The Atlantic Monthly, Mother Jones, The Nation, The New Republic, illustriousness Los Angeles Times Book Conversation supplement, Vogue, , TV Guide, Mirabella and American Film.

Safe essays, op-eds and feature piece of writing have appeared in Harper's Magazine, The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, Time, The Wall Street Journal, Life, Mother Jones, Ms., The Nation, The New Republic, the New Statesman, In These Times, The Progressive, Working Woman, and Z Magazine.^[12]

Ehrenreich served as founder, specialist or board member to top-hole number of organizations including prestige National Women's Health Network, prestige National Abortion Rights Action Coalition, the National Mental Health Consumers' Self-Help Clearinghouse, the Nationwide Women's Program of the American Institution Service Committee, the Brooklyn-based Business for Union Democracy, the Boehm Foundation, the Women's Committee pleasant , the National Writers Singleness, the Progressive Media Project, FAIR's advisory committee on women adjoin the media, the National Putting together for the Reform of Hash Laws, and the Campaign take to mean America's Future.^[12]

Between and , she served as an adjunct interact professor at New York Institute and as a visiting don at the University of River at Columbia and at Sangamon State University (Now University quite a few Illinois, Springfield.) She lectured take into account the University of California, Santa Barbara, was a writer-in-residence custom the Ohio State University, Histrion Morse chair at the Organization of Oregon, and a edification fellow at the graduate academy of journalism at the Habit of California, Berkeley.

She was a fellow at the Fresh York Institute for the Learning, the John Simon Guggenheim Statue Foundation, the Institute for Design Studies, and the New York-based Society of American Historians.^[12]

In , Ehrenreich endorsed the presidential crusade of Ralph Nader; in , she urged voters to centre John Kerry in the new states.^[13]

In February , she uttered support for then-Senator Barack Obama in the U.S.

presidential campaign.^[14]

In , Ehrenreich published her embryonic work, Nickel and Dimed: Delimit (Not) Getting By in America. Seeking to explore whether descendants can subsist on minimum compensation in the United States, she worked "undercover" in a broadcast of minimum-wage jobs, such kind waitress, housekeeper, and Wal-Mart partner, and reported on her efforts to pay living expenses rule the low wages paid alongside those jobs (an average have possession of $7 per hour).

She completed that it was impossible clutch pay for food and lacerated without working at least bend in half such jobs. Nickel and Dimed became a bestseller and admirers regard the book as "a classic of social justice literature."^[15] Ehrenreich founded the Economic Misery Reporting Project with one chief purpose: support immersive reporting shove the working poor, in justness manner of Ehrenreich's own Nickel and Dimed.^[16]

Filling in for well-organized vacationing Thomas Friedman as shipshape and bristol fashion columnist with The New Dynasty Times in , Ehrenreich wrote about how, in the bicker for women's reproductive rights, "it's the women who shrink propagate acknowledging their own abortions who really irk me" and held that she herself "had brace abortions during my all-too-fertile years".^[17]

In her book of essays, The Worst Years of Our Lives, she wrote that "the make sure of regret I have about trough own abortions is that they cost money that might contrarily have been spent on view more pleasurable, like taking magnanimity kids to movies and thesis parks."^[18]

In , The New Yorker called her "a veteran muckraker".^[19]

In , she founded United Professionals, an organization described as "a nonprofit, non-partisan membership organization financial assistance white-collar workers, regardless of calling or employment status.

We stretch out to all unemployed, underemployed, and anxiously employed workers—people who bought the American dream go wool-gathering education and credentials could draw to a secure middle titanic life, but now find their lives disrupted by forces out of range their control."^[20]

In , she wrote Bright-sided: How Positive Thinking Task Undermining America, which investigated probity rise of the positive opinion industry in the United States.

She included her own approach after being told that she had breast cancer as pure starting point in the book.^[21] In this book, she overpowered to light various methods illustrate what Nobel physicist Murray Gell-Mann called "quantum flapdoodle".^[22]

Beginning in , Ehrenreich was an honorary co-chair of the Democratic Socialists staff America.

She also served stock the NORML board of bosses, the Institute for Policy Studies board of trustees and nobility editorial board of The Nation. She has served on honourableness editorial boards of Social Policy, Ms., Mother Jones, Seven Days, Lear's, The New Press, bid Culturefront, and as a conducive editor to Harper's.^[12]

Works

Nonfiction

• Ehrenreich, Barbara; Ehrenreich, John ().

  Long March, Consequently Spring: The Student Uprising cultivate Home and Abroad. Monthly Study Press. ISBN&#;. (with John Ehrenreich)

• Ehrenreich, Barbara (). The American Good Empire: Power, Profits, and Politics. Knopf Doubleday Publishing. ISBN&#;. (with John Ehrenreich and Health PAC)
• Ehrenreich, Barbara; English, Deirdre ().

  Witches, Midwives, and Nurses: A Legend of Women Healers. Feminist Tap down. ISBN&#;. (with Deirdre English)

• Ehrenreich, Barbara; English, Deirdre (). Complaints beginning Disorders: The Sexual Politics touch on Sickness. Feminist Press at CUNY. ISBN&#;. (with Deirdre English)
• Ehrenreich, Barbara; English, Deirdre ().

  For Turn a deaf ear to Own Good: Two Centuries considerate the Experts' Advice to Women. Anchor Press. ISBN&#;. (with Deirdre English)

• Fuentes, Annette; Fuentes, Carlos; Ehrenreich, Barbara (). Women in significance Global Factory. South End Beseech. ISBN&#;.
• Ehrenreich, Barbara ().

  The Whist of Men: American Dreams arm the Flight from Commitment. Implant Press/Doubleday. ISBN&#;.

• Ehrenreich, Barbara; Hess, Elizabeth; Jacobs, Gloria (). Re-Making Love: The Feminization of Sex. Stability Press/Doubleday. ISBN&#;. (with Elizabeth Nazi and Gloria Jacobs)
• Block, Fred L.; Cloward, Richard A.; Piven, Frances Fox ().

  The Mean Season: Attack on the Welfare State. Pantheon Books. ISBN&#;. (with Fred L. Block, Richard A. Cloward, and Frances Fox Piven)

• Ehrenreich, Barbara (). Fear of Falling: Integrity Inner Life of the Midway Class. Pantheon Books. ISBN&#;.
• Ehrenreich, Barbara (). The Worst Years line of attack Our Lives: Irreverent Notes outlandish a Decade of Greed.

  HarperPerennial. ISBN&#;.

• Ehrenreich, Barbara (). The Growl Citizen: Essays. Farrar, Straus dispatch Giroux. ISBN&#;.
• Ehrenreich, Barbara (). Blood Rites: Origins and History domination the Passions of War. DIANE Publishing Company. ISBN&#;.
• Ehrenreich, Barbara ().

  Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By In America. Macmillan. ISBN&#;.

• Ehrenreich, Barbara; Hochschild, Arlie Uranologist (). Global Woman: Nannies, Maids, and Sex Workers in glory New Economy. Macmillan. ISBN&#;. (ed., with Arlie Hochschild)
• Ehrenreich, Barbara (). Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream.

  Macmillan. ISBN&#;.

• Ehrenreich, Barbara (). Dancing in the Streets: A World of Collective Joy. Macmillan. ISBN&#;.
• Ehrenreich, Barbara (). This Land assay Their Land: Reports from marvellous Divided Nation. New York: City Books. ISBN&#;. OCLC&#;
• Ehrenreich, Barbara ().

  Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Support of Positive Thinking has Disgruntled America. New York: Metropolitan Books. ISBN&#;. OCLC&#; (UK: Smile Lead into Die: How Positive Thinking Fooled America and the World)

• Ehrenreich, Barbara (). Living with a Uncultivated God: A Nonbeliever's Search appearance the Truth about Everything.

  New-found York: Twelve. ISBN&#;. OCLC&#;

• Ehrenreich, Barbara (). Natural Causes: An Extensive of Wellness, the Certainty go along with Dying, and Killing Ourselves extract Live Longer. New York: Xii. ISBN&#;. OCLC&#;
• Ehrenreich, Barbara (). Had I Known: Collected Essays.

  Xii. ISBN&#;.

Fiction

• Ehrenreich, Barbara (). Kipper's Game. Farrar, Straus, Giroux. ISBN&#;.

Essays

• Ehrenreich, Toilet and Barbara (). "The Professional-Managerial Class". Between Labor and Capitol.

  South End Press. ISBN&#;.

• "The Charge: Gynocide", investigative journalism about picture Dalkon Shield in the base world, Mother Jones, November/December,
• "Making Sense of La Difference", Time,
• "Burt, Loni and Our Go to waste of Life", Time, September 20,
• "In Defense of Talk Shows", Time, December 4,
• "The Modern Creationism: Biology Under Attack"The Nation, June 9,
• "How 'Natural' Go over the main points Rape?

  Despite a Daffy Original Theory, It's Not Just fine Guy in Touch with Sovereign Inner Caveman" at the Wayback Machine (archived February 17, ), Time, January 31,

• "Welcome to Cancerland", Harper's Magazine, November National Monthly Award finalist
• "A New Counterterrorism Strategy: Feminism", AlterNet,
• "Fight for Your Right to Party" Time, Dec 18,
• "My Unwitting Role take back Acts of Torture" at ethics Wayback Machine (archived ), The Guardian, February 22,
• "Is It Say to a Crime to Be Poor?", The New York Times, Respected 9,
• "Are Women Getting Sadder?

  Or Are We All Alter Getting a Lot More Gullible?", Guernica, October 13,

• "Smile! You've got cancer", The Guardian, Jan 2,
• Death of a Yuppie Dream – The Rise obtain Fall of the Professional-Managerial Congregation February 12,

Awards

In , Ehrenreich shared the National Magazine Stakes for excellence in reporting joint colleagues at Mother Jones armoury ^[23] for the cover forgery The Corporate Crime of illustriousness Century,^[24] about "what happens name the U.S.

government forces span dangerous drug, pesticide or keep inside product off the domestic bazaar, then the manufacturer sells ramble same product, frequently with interpretation direct support of the Submit Department, throughout the rest company the world."^[25]

In the American Discipline Association named her "Humanist look up to the Year".^[26]

In , she standard the Sidney Hillman Award desire journalism for the Harper's do away with "Nickel and Dimed", which was later published as a sheet in her book of honesty same title.^[27]

In , she won a National Magazine Award to about her essay "Welcome to Cancerland: A mammogram leads to graceful cult of pink kitsch", which describes Ehrenreich's own experience expend being diagnosed with breast tumour, and describes what she calls the "breast cancer cult," which "serves as an accomplice herbaceous border global poisoning – normalizing someone, prettying it up, even spectacle it, perversely, as a convinced and enviable experience."^[28][29]

In , she received the Puffin/Nation Prize hold Creative Citizenship,^[30] awarded jointly by virtue of the Puffin Foundation of Recent Jersey and The Nation Guild to an American who challenges the status quo "through noticeable, courageous, imaginative, socially responsible exertion of significance".^[31]

In , she old hat the "Freedom from Want" Ribbon, awarded by the Roosevelt Institution in celebration of "those whose life's work embodies FDR's A handful of Freedoms".^[32]

Ehrenreich received a Ford Establish award for humanistic perspectives inaugurate contemporary society (), a Altruist Fellowship (–88) and a offer for research and writing elude the John D.

and Wife T. MacArthur Foundation (). She received honorary degrees from Hue College, the State University persuade somebody to buy New York at Old Westbury, the College of Wooster addition Ohio, John Jay College, UMass Lowell and La Trobe Lincoln in Melbourne, Australia.^[24]

In November , Ehrenreich received the Erasmus Enjoy by King Willem-Alexander of ethics Netherlands for her work remark investigative journalism.^[33]

Personal life and family

Ehrenreich had one brother, Ben Alexanders Jr., and one sister, Diane Alexander.

When she was 35, according to the book Always Too Soon: Voices of Occasion for Those Who Have Mislaid Both Parents, her mother deadly "from a likely suicide".^[34] Accumulate father died years later Alzheimer's disease.^[34]

Ehrenreich was married opinion divorced twice.

She met sagacious first husband, John Ehrenreich, over an anti-war activism campaign count on New York City, and they married in He is cool clinical psychologist,^[35] and they co-wrote several books about health line and labor issues before divorcing in In , she marital Gary Stevenson, a union rub for the Teamsters.^[6] She divorced Stevenson in ^[12]

Ehrenreich had twosome children with her first groom.

Her daughter Rosa, born condensation , was named after topping great-grandmother and Rosa Luxemburg.^[36] She is a Virginia-based law university lecturer, national security and foreign game plan expert and writer.^[37] Ehrenreich's newborn Ben, born in , remains a novelist and a newspaperwoman in Los Angeles.^[38]

Ehrenreich was diagnosed with breast cancer shortly back end the release of her publication Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America.

That led to the award-winning crumb "Welcome to Cancerland," published worry the November issue of Harper's Magazine. The piece inspired nobleness documentary Pink Ribbons, Inc.^[39]

Ehrenreich momentary in Alexandria, Virginia,^[40] where she died at a hospice easiness on September 1, , stay away from a stroke, six days puzzle out her 81st birthday.^[15] Her New York Times obituary called smear an "Explorer of Prosperity's Irrational Side" for her commentary expose inequality in the United States.^[41]

References

External links