Every Day Is Election Day: A Woman's Guide to Winning Any Office, from the PTA to the White House

by Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (Foreword), Rebecca Sive

With expert guidance and abundant resources, this practical and inspirational guide is for women at all stages of life who want to achieve political leadership and be influential voices on public policy. It teaches women how to surmount public barriers, conquer private fears, and run winning campaigns -- with joy, humor, confidence, and no apologies. In her no-nonsense, woman-to-woman style, Rebecca Sive offers pragmatic advice and strategies for women's daily lives as advocates, candidates, and powerbrokers. She provides tips for realizing the power of sisterhood; bankrolling oneself; creating an inimitable brand; making local victories national; overcoming negativity; and getting men to accept a take-charge personality. Sive shares the true-life stories, secrets of success, and frank suggestions of women who have led, run, and won.

Genres: Nonfiction, Feminism, Politics

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Mallorie Watts · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the idea of this book is AMAZING! Encouraging women to run for office, no matter the size is an issue very dear to my (And hopefully every woman's) heart. However, I felt like this book included a lot of useless or irrelevant info. A lot of the content was common sense, but I guess it's never a bad idea to put info in to level the background knowledge for all readers. My favorite part was at the end of the book; she includes every imaginable resource for women running for office, etc.

[Sheila]

Holy buckets, in a book about women breaking down barriers and fulfilling their potential, you're going to start with a diet analogy?

facepalm. facepalm forever.

[Alex I. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was chosen to be read as part of a larger book club....I don't really like the book, author's style, nor see how this would help me in running for office. The author seems to have some really good points, but fails to fully execute them. A lot of times points fall short of coming full circle. Additionally, three chapters completely rubbed me the wrong way. The two that dealt with money. She is pro-1% and corporation fundraising, which isn't my personal views, so I did not agree that is what you have to do at all. Also, just how she talked about keeping people on the fundraiser list and really being nice to the ones that wrote the big checks, was disgusting. The othe chapter I did not like was "Men are your enemies (except when they're your friends)". I just didn't seem to get the point of the chapter at all. Overall, I feel that if I were to run for office (or a friend) this is NOT a book I would recommend reading, ever.

[Annie Kostyk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Want to get involved in anything? Want to volunteer? Want to become part of your community? Want to run for any office? This book is for you.

Sive not only tells you how to get involved in the most basic ways, but moves on to political office up to the president. I really enjoyed the book since she's a professor at University of Chicago and I know about a lot of the women candidates/office holders she talks about. It's nice to hear of others' experiences on how to do it and how to get it done.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had the opportunity to meet the author and thought her "hold nothing back" attitude was refreshing and her ideas were interesting. In my opinion, this does not come across in the book. While there is good advice scattered throughout the chapters, I disagree with the approach to fundraising and rubbing shoulders with the well-known that the author seems to advocate. The title is also misleading - this book is a collection of ideas and recommendations, not a step by step guide to running for public office.

[Margaret McCamant · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book, although it made it abundantly clear that I am right to have never even considered a political career! I know the author, and it was fun to be in on the early stages of her thinking about the book, writing a proposal, getting a publisher, etc.

It also helped me understand her remarkable network of friends and contacts: she's following the same advice she preaches.