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I Didn't Come Here to Lie: My Life and Education
An intimate, inspiring memoir by educator and labor union leader Karen Lewis, a formidable fighter, a staunch defender of teachers and students, and a beloved Chicagoan.
In 2012, Karen Lewis led the Chicago Teachers Union to a historic strike, challenging the city’s powerful mayor and paving the way for an unprecedented wave of teacher strikes in the decade that followed.
But Lewis’s life took her in rich and surprising directions long before she landed in the CTU President’s office. I Didn’t Come Here to Lie, written in collaboration with historian and education expert Elizabeth Todd-Breland, tells Lewis’s story in full for the first time, capturing her lively wit, her charisma, and her commitment to building the schools and communities teachers, students, and families deserve.
From her childhood on Chicago’s South Side to her teen years organizing Black Power walkouts, from her education at Mount Holyoke and Dartmouth to her years in Oklahoma and Barbados and her stints in medical school and film school, readers follow Lewis through a life full of exploration. Wherever she was, she maintained a strong commitment to building fairness. She found her calling in the classroom, teaching science for more than twenty years before becoming a union leader in Chicago.
Up until her untimely death from brain cancer in 2021, Karen Lewis was spirited, unshakeable, and fierce. She remains a model for current organizers and teachers doing the day-to-day work of building a better world. I Didn’t Come Here to Lie is a testament to one of the true revolutionaries of her generation.
In 2012, Karen Lewis led the Chicago Teachers Union to a historic strike, challenging the city’s powerful mayor and paving the way for an unprecedented wave of teacher strikes in the decade that followed.
But Lewis’s life took her in rich and surprising directions long before she landed in the CTU President’s office. I Didn’t Come Here to Lie, written in collaboration with historian and education expert Elizabeth Todd-Breland, tells Lewis’s story in full for the first time, capturing her lively wit, her charisma, and her commitment to building the schools and communities teachers, students, and families deserve.
From her childhood on Chicago’s South Side to her teen years organizing Black Power walkouts, from her education at Mount Holyoke and Dartmouth to her years in Oklahoma and Barbados and her stints in medical school and film school, readers follow Lewis through a life full of exploration. Wherever she was, she maintained a strong commitment to building fairness. She found her calling in the classroom, teaching science for more than twenty years before becoming a union leader in Chicago.
Up until her untimely death from brain cancer in 2021, Karen Lewis was spirited, unshakeable, and fierce. She remains a model for current organizers and teachers doing the day-to-day work of building a better world. I Didn’t Come Here to Lie is a testament to one of the true revolutionaries of her generation.
272 pages, Hardcover
Published March 25, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 14, 2025
Loved learning about Karen Lewis’ life- her attitude and spirit are contagious. Also heartening to read what she got out of Judaism.
May 14, 2025
wow, what an incredible life Karen Lewis lived & what a beautifully important legacy she left behind
also f*ck rahm emmanuel, today and always!
also f*ck rahm emmanuel, today and always!
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March 14, 2025Review coming for The Progressive!
July 10, 2025
There are few people who loom as large on the modern landscape of Chicago as the great CTU president Karen Lewis. I was a highschooler when the CTU went on strike in 2012 - and my political development was largely shaped by the aftermaths of their struggle against Mayor 1% Rahm Emanuel. I am proud to have played a small piece in honoring Karen's legacy, and helping to push Chicago in a more equitable direction, whether through legislation, elections, or community organizing.
This book helps take us through Karen's life, showing how her upbringing shaped her, how she lived whole lives long before she came to Chicago Public Schools, and how all of that shaped both her teaching and her union activism. It reminds us how we are all shaped by myriad forces around us and that we do not know where we will end up. I doubt if you told the Karen that was living in Barbados in the 70s that she'd be a world famous union leader that she'd take you seriously.
"Does it unite us? Does it build our power? Does it make us stronger?" Three questions every activist should live and breathe by.
May her memory be a revolution.
This book helps take us through Karen's life, showing how her upbringing shaped her, how she lived whole lives long before she came to Chicago Public Schools, and how all of that shaped both her teaching and her union activism. It reminds us how we are all shaped by myriad forces around us and that we do not know where we will end up. I doubt if you told the Karen that was living in Barbados in the 70s that she'd be a world famous union leader that she'd take you seriously.
"Does it unite us? Does it build our power? Does it make us stronger?" Three questions every activist should live and breathe by.
May her memory be a revolution.
July 29, 2025
As a proud CTU member and a teacher whose first full school year kicked off in 2012, this memoir was on my radar for some time. I found it to be refreshingly candid. She makes clear her frustrations (I’ll play it more neutral.) with CPS and its leaders both right-leaning and neoliberal alike. She concisely and conversationally relates her experiences growing up and finding her faith as well as her inevitable stint as CTU president. Her humor is evident throughout. More than most autobiographies, her voice and her vibe shine through.
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February 6, 2025review forthcoming in the Cleveland Review of Books
August 9, 2025
Proud CPS student who is so grateful to Karen Lewis and CTU for fighting for a better future for students and all Chicagoans :)
August 17, 2025
Her insights around organizing were invaluable and the aspects of her life she shared were pretty fascinating
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews