Hick: The trailblazing journalist who captured Eleanor Roosevelt's heart

by Sarah Miller

In this riveting YA non-fiction set against the backdrop of the Great Depression, trace Lorena Hickok--or Hick's-- rise from devastating childhood to renowned journalist, and watch as she forms the most significant friendship and romantic relationship of her life with first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt.

Lorena Hickok came from nothing. She was on her own from the age of 14, cooking and scrubbing for one family after another as she struggled to finish school. But the girl who secretly longed for affection discovered she had a talent with words.

That talent allowed Hick to carve out a place for herself in the male-dominated newsrooms of the Midwest where she earned bylines on everything from football to opera to politics. By age 35 she’d become one of the Associated Press’s top reporters.

At the moment her career was taking off, Hick was assigned to cover Eleanor Roosevelt during FDR’s presidential campaign. By the close of 1932, Hick was head over heels in love with the wife of the president-elect. And her life would never be the same.

Acclaimed author Sarah Miller read the 3500 letters that exist between Lorena Hickock and Eleanor Roosevelt to reconstruct their friendship and love, and bring Hick's story to a new generation.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, LGBT, History, Biography Memoir, Historical, Queer

384 pages, Library Binding

Published May 27, 2025

About the author

Sarah Miller began writing her first novel at the age of ten, and has spent the last two decades working in libraries and bookstores. She is the author of two previous historical novels, Miss Spitfire: Reaching Helen Keller, and The Lost Crown. Her nonfiction debut, The Borden Murders: Lizzie Borden and the Trial of the Century, was hailed by the New York Times as "a historical version of Law & Order." She lives in Michigan.

Reviews

[Bethany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engaging and meticulously researched and sourced. The last chapters tore at my heart, and all I wanted to do after was hug my wife. I hope if there is an afterlife, that Hick and Eleanor are sitting somewhere under a great tree, reading aloud their favorite books.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an interesting book about Eleanor Roosevelt and the female journalist, known as Hick who became enamored with Eleanor. Hick corresponded back and forth with her through 3,500 letters along with meeting Eleanor on occasion. Highly recommended! Biography

[Laura Gardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sarah Miller is an excellent NF writer!
I was fascinated to learn all about Lorena Hickok who is an important female historical icon in her own right as a journalist, but was also Eleanor Roosevelt's (secret) girlfriend. Their letters back and forth show deep affection and love. I was fascinated to learn about how Hick had to basically quit journalism bc she was unable to be objective about Eleanor and FDR once FDR became president. Her subsequent career of traveling around the country during the Great Depression and interviewing people to find out if relief efforts were working (they largely weren't) is really interesting. Very interesting, well written book overall!

[Maggie Carr · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew nothing of Hick, unlike many of the topics/people Sarah Miller writes about. So this was all so new information and I enjoyed how it was written intermixed with commentary verses straight epistolary style.

[Kate Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stars: 5 Stars
Format: Print
Series: Stand Alone
Steam Level: Not Steamy

CWs: physical abuse, speculated SA, sexism, homophobia

I read this for the 2025 Sapphic Book Bingo reading challenge for the prompt Free Choice.

Wow. I honestly can’t remember the last time that I got so attached to the person I’m reading about while knowing full well that they have passed. It’s usually only fictional works that affect me so deeply. This is a special book.

Quick Thoughts:
- I knew a little bit about these two being a couple but not nearly as much as described in this book or really much of anything about Hick so this was just fascinating
- This book is perfect for when you don’t have long amounts of time to read. The chapters are very short and were easy to read in random five minute increments I had
- I was greatly amused when I learned that Aberdeen, North Dakota payed a big part of Hick’s childhood. My wife’s family is from there (and are still there) and it’s such a small place that I joke that “we fly into Aberdeen Airport Fish and Tackle where the Fish and Tackle section is bigger than the airport” and assume no one but people from Aberdeen know of it
- It’s always so interesting to see the little “nothing” events in a person’s life that were actually pivotal to how their life played out
- Reading about all the turmoil (like constantly being hounded by the public) these two had to contend with to stay together drove home the point on how deeply they cared about each other
- As someone in a very long term relationship, I sincerely appreciated that the author didn’t ignore the tiffs that Elenor and Hick got into, and showed how these things didn’t lessen the deep connection between them and were just them being two very different people in a relationship together
- Hick was very savvy to send her papers and letter to the FDR Presidential Library with the stipulation that the crates couldn’t be opened until ten years after her death. Without a doubt those documents would have been altered (hello Emily Dickinson) or destroyed without having that official protection of a presidential library
- Of course I knew how this book was going to end but I still cried through most of that last part. So much of their lives and feelings were documented that even with great swaths of it lost, I became unexpectedly very attached to both of them
- I really recommend reading all the way through the Author’s Note at the end. It gave me a greater appreciation of all the work that went into this book and how carefully Sarah Miller pulled the information together without wildly speculating about things
- Even if most of the information is already known by whoever reads this, it is worth reading if only to see a couple’s relationship can be so very different from how media/society says how it should look like and it work perfectly for them, letting them thrive as a couple

Overall this book was fascinating and so well done that I sincerely hope many, many people read this book. It will be sticking to me for a long, long time.

[Karyl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just over a year ago, I read Eleanor and Hick: The Love Affair That Shaped a First Lady, but found it rather dry and more about the presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt than about Eleanor and Hick. This book, however, is definitely the book I wish Eleanor and Hick had been.

I am already familiar with Sarah Miller for her novels Marmee (which is one of the best books I’ve ever read) and Caroline: Little House, Revisited, so as soon as my kid showed me this book I immediately checked it out from the library. And I’m so glad I did. I really could not put this book down.

Much of this book was very familiar to me, having already read Eleanor and Hick, but Miller’s biography of these two women is so much more vivid and engaging. While this is most definitely nonfiction and very well researched, it reads more like a novel, keeping the reader turning pages. I liked that the chapters tended to be quite short; perhaps paradoxically, shorter chapters keep me captivated in the story. Miller does an excellent job keeping the focus on Hick, though we do learn about FDR’s run for President and why Eleanor was so work-oriented.

What I found interesting about this book is how different Hick and Eleanor were. Hick was rather sensitive, always longing for love and affection, thanks to her absolutely awful childhood, but it made her relationship with such a famous woman so difficult. Eleanor couldn’t really afford to devote herself to Hick, not while living in the public eye and being married to the most powerful man on the planet. And Eleanor herself tended to shut down emotionally whenever things got to be too much. She was still present physically, but often she was checked out emotionally. My heart aches for both women, the fact that no one ever found either of them as children cute or adorable, and both were told often how unattractive they were. How awful for them both.

At this point, I am going read everything Sarah Miller has written. She has quickly become one of my favorite authors.

[Amber Scaife · Rating 5 out of 5]

A biography of Lorena Hickok, who came up from a destitute and hard childhood to become a well-known and accomplished journalist, and the first woman to have a byline on the front page of the New York Times. She was also, as it happens, in a secret romantic relationship with Eleanor Roosevelt. Such an interesting and impressive woman, and the biography is very well written. I highly recommend this one.

[Ellie G · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really remarkable biography. Miller does the work of unburying--in an insightful, engaging, very sensitive manner--a forgotten corner of America's queer history. I hope future generations learn about Lorena Hickock and her contributions to journalism, progressive politics, and the New Deal before I did.

[Cathy Browder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lorena Hickok (Hick) and Eleanor Roosevelt had a very close friendship. This book tells the story of that friendship as well as historical information during the time it took place - from approximately 1930 to the time of Hicks death in 1968.

There has been a lot of speculation about their friendship and whether it was purely platonic or if there was a sexual nature to the friendship. There is no proof that it was anything more than a platonic friendship and that’s the story this book tells.

I very much enjoyed the read, although it did get a bit wordy at times. I recommend it to any avid reader of historical fiction.

[Shawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

At times Miller's writing is charged with journalistic energy and other times her tone is soft, reflective - reverent. Reading writing this good makes me aware of how hard it is to write at this level.

Gorgeous jacket design.

The best book I've read all year.

[haley ⊹ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5! very lovely and informative, super fascinating to learn about these two amazing women. I enjoyed how, despite this being an informative true story, it was written and weaved together in an easygoing way

[Ashana Torani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very compelling read! Was interesting to learn about Hick’s life and the way her love story was portrayed with Eleanor as well as the other women in her life was really beautiful

[Fiona · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredibly well-executed biography, although I think the epilogue should have been a prologue; it would have framed the narrative in a much more queer-forward sort of way.

[Emma Repp Earle · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5

This was a fascinating read! I am so glad I am now familiar with who Lorena Hickok is. What an incredible woman!

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

All too often queer figures have been ignored or removed from history. As important and influential as Hick was, how many of us even knew her name or how some of her perspectives on poverty were so influential on Eleanor Roosevelt? Thorough and incredibly detailed, this cradle-to-the-grave biography of the groundbreaking journalist and close friend of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt relies on thorough research and the 3,500 letters exchanged between Hick and Eleanor for its contents. Even without the relationship between the two women, her story is worth telling, but because that relationship was so extraordinary for its time, it adds yet another layer of historical importance. The author lets the feelings of the two women speak for themselves, drawing conclusions about their feelings from their words and carefully explaining why she made those conclusions. It would have been easy to include various details about FDR in the narrative and get side-tracked with politics and legislation, but the author resists this detour, including just enough details about the President to add context but not allowing his story to hijack the story she wants to tell. History has often ignored stories and individuals like Hick and erased any sign of a romantic relationship between queer folks, making this book an important one.

While it may not have universal teen appeal, there are many elements with which teens can relate--the poverty of Hick's family, her abusive father, her moving from one place or one "home" to another, her efforts against being sidelined in a profession where men got the hard news and women the soft stories, her own lack of self-esteem at various points due to her body image and facial features, and her resilience, somehow managing to bounce back or reinvent herself after disappointments. The Epilogue and Author's Note make her story all the more relevant, especially considering how her very ashes were left unclaimed for years and we only know her story because she donated them to the FDR Presidential Library with the proviso that they not be opened for ten years. Even the efforts of some to keep those words hidden adds to the intrigue of this important story. I also like how the book is organized and the book's cover, featuring the colors of the lesbian flag.

How frightening to think that the story of their relationship was almost lost. Shades of modern politics, indeed. This one is a must-read, and even adults can learn something from its contents.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this interesting. Hick had a really hardscrabble beginning to life that teens might find eye opening. I hadn’t realized till I finished that it was YA. I think both Hick and Eleanor would have been hesitant at that placement, but hopefully it is an acceptable placement these days (2026) in tolerant California. The author admits in the last chapter that it is impossible to know whether the relationship included physical love or not, but declares there can be no doubt there was love. I would tend to agree. Then you can start trying to define love: the fact that they wrote many hundreds of letters to each other, which dwindled as telephones got more available, indicates that they were very important to each other. I would say that Hick’s importance can be seen in one act: Eleanor became renowned for holding press conferences for women only. Meaning that any newspaper during the height of the Great Depression that wanted the news had to have at least one female reporter. This during a time when women were being told it was their duty to resign and let a family supporting male have a job, ignoring the fact females could be doing the same. President Roosevelt deliberately had Eleanor announce major events on occasion so newspapers had no choice but to cover her conferences! Note that the last 5 sentences are based more on my knowledge of the Roosevelts than from this book specifically. Hick was a journalist heart and soul. There can be no doubt in my mind that she suggested this scheme to Eleanor who took the concept and ran with it. The fact that FDR knew her and accepted her also says a lot in my opinion. This gave me insight into a major newspaper writer that had made it long before she encountered Eleanor. I wonder what she could have accomplished today, with hopefully fewer prejudices towards women in jobs not considered feminine enough! I hope we do not revert back to those days! Hick was quite the character! She clearly didn’t fit comfortably in Eleanor’s societal group of women. It says a lot for Eleanor’s open mindedness that she appreciated Hick for what she was!
Recommended for those who want the people’s history of the Great Depression, those interested in the way newspapers are put together, women’s history, or more information about Eleanor Roosevelt. The huge amount of primary sources gives this book its fourth star.

[Madeline · Rating 5 out of 5]

This biography of Lorena Hickok was incredibly interesting from start to finish. What a life she had! Born in Wisconsin, she was the oldest--and in her opinion, least pretty--of three girls who had an incredibly abusive, volatile father. After her mother died, Lorena moved out and supported herself as a young teenager. She found work as a domestic worker in others' homes, finished high school in Michigan, and eventually attended Lawrence University in Wisconsin. Before finishing her degree, she left to devote her time to her job at the Milwaukee Sentinel and then Minneapolis Tribune.

Lorena, who began going by "Hick," had an engaging writing style and began to excel in her field despite being a woman. She later moved to New York and worked for the Associated Press. She met Eleanor Roosevelt in the 1930s, as FDR was running for President, and the two women hit it off. They developed a close friendship that clearly, based on the thousands of surviving letters they sent one another, became love. When Hick's reporting of Eleanor became ethically questionable due to their relationship, she quit the newspaper business and began traveling the country to interview people affected by the Great Depression. Though they couldn't spend as much time together as they'd have liked, she and Eleanor remained close friends for the rest of Eleanor's life.

This is a well-researched and engaging account of a very impressive and unusual woman. In the author's note, Sarah Miller notes that she read all of the surviving correspondence between Eleanor and Hick (among other things, of course) as part of her research. Her respect for her subject really shows in her writing.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had never heard of Lorena Hickok but I knew some things about Eleanor Roosevelt and thought it might be interesting to find out about this woman called "Hick." I was amazed how the first two chapters drew me in because I related so much with Lorena. It helped me to put a descriptive feeling to some things in my life that I had not really known how to express before. It shook me. I continued to read and found Hick to be a very interesting woman. She was someone who was able to make her way as a single woman in the workforce at a time when a woman was expected to marry, stay at home and take care of their husband, children. Due to her childhood years Hick never knew or believed how smart, intelligent and caring others thought her to be. Going from a basic copy girl to an Associated Press reporter assigned to Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife, Eleanor and then to extend her coverage to Mrs. Roosevelt as she was transitioning to the First Lady of the United States was not easy. Hick's loyalty to the Roosevelts and her friends was admirable. She had to battle the gossip of the elite and some co-workers who thought she only got her positions in work because of who she knew. The strength she found in the long-lasting friendship and close relationship with Eleanor Roosevelt lends insight into the Roosevelt family and politics during this time in history. In my view, this book is a winner.

[Amanda Clay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is fantastic. Sarah Miller is such a good biographer, the entire story flows organically, the source material is so well integrated it seems like natural dialogue. The picture she paints of Hick, and of Hick and Eleanor, and of Eleanor herself is real and well-rounded. Fun anecdotes, fascinating side-characters, and a comprehensive look at Hicks dogs and cars brings the subject to life.


My one complaint is about the writing. Throughout the book, Hick, Eleanor, and the lesbians who were part of their circle of friends are referred to as 'queer' rather than as lesbian, which is jarring as well as insulting/ridiculous. There are at least three quotes from the women where they use the word 'queer' to describe things that are strange, out of place, unusual. There is no way they would have defined themselves as queer and it's presumptuous to stick the label on them, especially when the word Lesbian exists and is accurate.

Similarly, we are told of Hick's pioneering achievements in the world of journalism, making jobs and advances where no other women had gone before. Unfortunately, the book consistently refers to Lorena Hickock as achieving all kinds of firsts for her 'gender' rather than her sex, which would be accurate.

Nonetheless, this is a fantastic book.

[Shazza Maddog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lorena Hickok (eventually going by the name "Hick") grew up in an abusive fa

mily. As the eldest daughter, she was treated badly by her father and ignored by her mother. After her mother died, her father sent her off to live with a cousin who paid her to take care of their kids and their house - just one of many jobs Hick held. After she finally escaped this hellish life, Hick moved on, eventually completing high school and being part of the literary club and the yearbook before deciding to become a reporter.

Here, once Hick got a job and could actually prove herself more in tune with the big stories (those given to male reporters) than the "women's pages" and is eventually assigned to do a report on Eleanor Roosevelt, where she becomes fascinated. The fascination becomes mutual and the pair carry on a loving relationship for the rest of Eleanor's life.

A very interesting biography and history book. There was a lot I didn't know about Eleanor presented and that was intriguing. Hick sounds like someone my great aunt would've admired greatly (her Mom was either the first woman postmaster in Indiana or the U.S., not sure which, and my great aunt had some amazing adventures).

[Xanthe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even without the trumpeted connection to Eleanor Roosevelt, this biography of journalist Lorena Hickok is a compelling and fascinating look at the life of a woman who climbed her way out of a tough childhood and made a career for herself at a time when everything was stacked against her. Just to get to know Hick and the amazing life that she had makes very glad that I read this book and learned about what it took to go from drudgery and a horrible family, to making a journalism career in a time where women were rejected and minimized as being able to report news and work with men. After reading this book, I now just really would like to read Hick's columns and more of her writing. The book does an excellent job of giving excerpts and reactions to what she wrote, but I'd love to read more. And of course there's the Eleanor Roosevelt of it all. The author does a good job of highlighting the differences in personality between the two women and how their lives kept them apart, but also makes it clear how true and vital their love was for them. So lovely and moving. I'm very glad I read this one.

[Joseph J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moving beyond speculation about the depth of the relationship between journalist Lorena Hickock and Eleanor Roosevelt, Sara Miller presents a rich account of the no-holes-barred newspaper journalism of the 20th. century. "Hick's" hardscrabble early life of emotional and physical abuse at the hands of her father, and subsequent abandonment by her family, is out of Dickens only darker, much darker. Always an outcast, in schools and society as a young girl, Hick overcomes anti-woman prejudice in the newsroom to become a valued and respected journalist. This amid a dizzying number of stops and starts in her journalism career, a career which effectively ends with her deepening relationship with Eleanor Roosevelt. This volume was placed in the genera section of my public library, and I checked it out after seeing the author on C-SPAN. I read it unaware of its YA designation and though l have been reading and buying books since Eleanor and Franklin; I learned much from and enjoyed this YA book and I hope self appointed and ignorant thought police across this increasingly unrecognizable country don't target it for removal.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lorena Hickok was notable in her own right. Born in 1893, when few women forged their destiny, she overcame intense poverty, neglect, and abuse, earning a reputation as a top reporter, who could handle any story. But it is the revelation of her long, romantic relationship with Eleanor Roosevelt that makes her biography uniquely compelling. Miller’s scrupulous research gives readers a remarkable look at a passionate, lifelong affair, intimate glimpses of our most consequential first lady, and a nuanced portrayal of how a romantic relationship with a world historical figure can complicate a life, especially a reporter’s. Four sections divide Hick’s life into childhood, adulthood, with Eleanor, and after Eleanor. Sixteen pages of photographs divide the book. The exhaustive level of detail occasionally drags, but ultimately adds up to an astonishing account of a life, career, and love that followed no template. Back matter includes language note, author’s note, sources, and endnotes. Main characters are white. Review based on an ARC. Published copy consulted.

[Hannah Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I added this book to my to-read list, I thought much of it would revolve around Hick and Eleanor’s relationship. It absolutely does, but there’s so much more. It’s a biography of an extraordinary woman who encountered one barrier after another. Each barrier Hick came across, she either said the hell with it if it wasn’t worth it or knocked the barrier down, sometimes paving the way for others. The one barrier she couldn’t overcome was having Eleanor to herself. Though there were moments when Eleanor and Hick could be together, those moments grew less and less as Eleanor became busier with her first lady roles.

This is a tough book to put down. First, after Hick's father and stepmother left her to take care of herself in her teens, Hick battled many obstacles to make a living and attend school. Next, she fought nonstop for newspaper assignments that were always, up to that point, given to men. Hick fought to spend time with Eleanor, and Hick battled her own insecurities until the very end. There’s a lot of heartbreak, anger, and injustice mucking up the pages, but Hick’s wit, resilience, determination, and boundless love for Eleanor shines through.

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

2026 ALA Stonewall YA Honor book

After a bit of a rough start Sarah Miller found her writing stride to give us a searing and heartbreaking biography of Alice Lorena Hickok, her abusive childhood, tooth and nail fight for survival through adolescence on her own, struggling for an education, jobs to put a roof over her head and food in her belly, to finding her voice in writing, her gift of listening and finding the heart of a story, and ultimately the heart of Eleanor Roosevelt. Searing honesty makes this a brutal read especially during her early years at the hands of her father. But honesty to makes this an important read as we follow Hicks becoming the feisty journalist who could bring you to tears or to laughter.
The author has diligently researched Lorena Hicks and the people around her. Her Author’s Notes, Sources, 20 pages of Notes in small print, and an index.
One very annoying editorial decision was putting the first line of every chapter in light gray, all caps text that was so light it was very difficult to see and read.

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 4 out of 5]

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

This was really interesting, especially since my grandmother was also born in 1893. Young readers would be flabbergasted to see how Ms. Hickok had to fend for herself from a young age, and I was amazed at how she was able to become educated and get work as a journalist at a time when this was a very hard thing for women to do. I know the point of this book was to highlight her relationship with Eleanor Roosevelt, but to me, the most interesting part was learning about her career.

I love Miller's work, and this is very well researched, but I'm probably not going to buy it for my middle school library. I did buy Miller's titles about the Romanovs and about the Dionne Quintuplets because they were fascinating, but my students now rarely pick up nonfiction if it is over 200 pages. Fans of women's history will want to take a look at this great title.

[Chrissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hick is a fascinating character. From her unhappy childhood to her tenacious work as a journalist, her story kept me reading. I knew nothing of her amazing relationship with Eleanor Roosevelt, and the author did a good job of depicting a caring relationship that, out of necessity, changed over the years, but remained affectionate. Hick's story seemed to take a back seat to Eleanor's in the back half of the book. I can see that it would have to, as Mrs. Roosevelt's schedule also took precedent over Hick's needs, but I feel like the book focused a bit too much on the first lady. Hicks jobs during the depression and afterward are just as interesting as her journalism early in her career. Still, this is a graceful depiction of an important relationship that had to remain hidden at the time, and should be better known now.

[Jennybeast · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a spectacular book -- riveting to read, well researched and just beautifully presented. Respectful of their relationship and of not making assumptions. Clear in communicating the deep love and affection between Hick and Eleanor, and also clear in presenting a history that isn't based on a monogamous heterosexual relationship. I also just love to read about Hick as a person -- her younger years were unimaginable in hardship, and yet not unusual, I think. Her strong and thoughtful personality shines through her words, and it's just amazing to read about her as a trailblazer in her own right. It's also, not gonna lie, a comfort to read about the FDR administration, and about people who care passionately about the welfare of others.

[Heather Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book objectively captured the dynamic relationship between Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickcok. The narrative smoothly wove a history of Hick's life, through effective research and Hick's own words. The author also takes care to not create drama where there isn't any definitive drama. While readers may never know the true relationship between Eleanor and Hick, there's enough written material to be obvious that there was much care and affection between the two women. What a brilliant way to highlight the life of a woman who cherished her privacy and private moments with the people she loved, as well as the lion of a journalist who carved her own path.

[Jan Raspen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose this biography because it is brand new and received a bunch of starred reviews. I'm just not sure that a YA audience will appreciate it. It is quite long (over 11 hours on my Kindle, although a bunch of that was the footnotes and index), and just not all that interesting. We do learn about Eleanor and Lorena's lives, but there was so little of the actual text of their correspondence that I felt like we really didn't get a lot of insight into their relationship.
I don't think this is a necessary purchase for HS libraries.