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Outside In: A Political Memoir
For more than four decades, Libby Davies has worked steadfastly for social justice. She became a community organizer in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside at the age of nineteen, later became active in Vancouver municipal politics, and eventually worked her way to become Deputy Leader of the federal New Democratic Party.
Davies lays bare the challenges she has faced with candid reflections on her experience as both an insider in the established political world and an outsider working in the activist community on controversial issues such as homelessness, sex workers' rights, and ending drug prohibition. Part memoir, part analysis of the political process, Davies's forty years of work at the intersection of the political process and social movements is both inspirational and comforting for anyone interested in getting involved in the politics and activism today.
Davies lays bare the challenges she has faced with candid reflections on her experience as both an insider in the established political world and an outsider working in the activist community on controversial issues such as homelessness, sex workers' rights, and ending drug prohibition. Part memoir, part analysis of the political process, Davies's forty years of work at the intersection of the political process and social movements is both inspirational and comforting for anyone interested in getting involved in the politics and activism today.
320 pages, Paperback
Published May 31, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 16, 2019
This is not a review but is based on an interview I had with the author. It was originally published in the Georgia Straight newspaper.
With a lifetime agitating for social change—as an activist, city councillor, and member of Parliament representing Vancouver East—Libby Davies has more than a few good stories to share.
In 1989, for example, she stood on the beach at Spanish Banks and spotted the USS Independence anchored in the water before her. The massive aircraft carrier had nuclear weapons onboard, and Davies wanted to call attention to their presence in Vancouver.
“The famous Greenpeace zodiacs ferried about twenty swimmers to the middle of the Burrard Inlet, and we jumped into the very cold water and began our swim,” she writes in Outside In: A Political Memoir. “The uppermost deck, an overhang where aircraft could land, was a giant shadow that blocked the sky. Every time I lifted my head for a breath I could hear the insults the sailors hurled at us from above.”
The book, scheduled for release on Tuesday (May 7), stands as a master class in activism and an invaluable guide to navigating the crossroads of advocacy, politics, and public policy.
“They so often collide and are misunderstood,” Davies tells the Straight at a café on East Hastings Street. “It’s like ships passing in the night. And so I wanted the book to be about activism, but also about how you make the political world…more accessible to people. How you bring about change, how you work on difficult issues that are not considered mainstream, and how you make progress.”
She emphasizes that activists can compromise on policy without compromising their principles.
“If we don’t use every opportunity and every tool we have to make the system work for us, we’re actually giving up our power,” Davies adds. “It’s all about how you can move forward with your agenda by understanding the environment you are in and sometimes making those difficult choices.”
Outside In also includes peeks behind the curtain in Ottawa, where, Davies reveals, life was not always glamorous and, at first, quite intimidating.
“My room on the second floor came unfurnished,” she writes about her first address in the nation’s capital. “I had a mattress on the floor, a pair of sheets from Zellers, and no personal effects. That reflected my state of mind; I was feeling lost, with serious doubts about being in Ottawa as an MP.
“And so began my new job,” she continues in the book. “I felt lonely and sad but seized with the issue of stopping the criminalization of people who use drugs, which underlay the startling number of drug overdoses and the intolerably high rates of HIV infection.”
The year that Davies was first elected as an MP, 1997, those twin health crises killed hundreds of her constituents. How to get the federal government’s attention was a learning experience for the federal rookie, Davies recounts.
“The very first day, when I was walking down the hall from the House of Commons to the Senate to hear the speech from the throne, [I was] thinking, ‘What the fuck am I doing here?’” she tells the Straight. “If I was going to get anywhere, I had to make allies, I had to win people over, and I had to figure out how the heck it worked.”
Davies says she’s learned many lessons from both sides of the negotiating table.
“It’s about the relationship,” she emphasizes. “Getting your foot in the door and finding how you can work with someone to begin that process of education, understanding, and getting change on the inside through that relationship.”
Davies also warns activists about a few mistakes she’s observed over the years.
“Sometimes people will dump all this stuff on you and they won’t actually ask you to do anything,” she says. “I wanted to reach across the table, shake them, and say, ‘Look, you’re doing it all wrong!’ And sometimes I actually did.”
Davies says she is still applying these lessons to work that remains unfinished today. On sex-workers’ rights, for example—a topic that receives quite a bit of space in Outside In—Davies says reforms must reflect the insight of those affected by the policies in question.
“Listen to the people who have experience and who know what change needs to happen,” she says. “Things changed in the late 1990s and early 2000s on the drug issue because VANDU [Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users] was formed and because VANDU became a powerful voice. It was the voice of drug users themselves who battled and broke down the horrible stereotypes, demonization, and vilification of people who used drugs.
“Any legislative change [on sex work] should not happen without the meaningful consultation and input of sex-worker organizations and individuals,” Davies continues. “Otherwise we’re going to keep getting it wrong.”
Outside In is a loving tribute to Davies's late partner, Bruce Eriksen, to whom she gives credit for her early forays into social justice. Davies also shares fond memories of her current partner Kim Elliott and of close friends such as Jean Swanson, Bud Osborn, and Jack Layton, among many others. With sharp insight, she recounts adventures fighting for affordable housing in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, coming out as Canada’s first openly gay female MP, landing in hot water for supporting Palestinians, and navigating sexism on the Hill.
The year Davies retired from federal politics, 2015, the NDP saw its presence in Parlaiment reduced from 103 seats to 44. Davies points to the party’s campaign position on cannabis as indicative of how the loss occurred. While Justin Trudeau’s Liberals promised full legalization and regulation, the NDP settled on decriminalization, a policy that only goes halfway to legalization, falling short of the sort of real action that it became clear the electorate desired.
“We acted cautiously and too late,” Davies writes in Outside In. “The same with climate change, and natural resource management, including pipelines. We started on the right path and then somewhere along the way let ourselves limp along—becoming cautious and careful when people wanted boldness. As often happens in federal politics, we became focused on ‘managing’ what was perceived as a difficult issue…rather than simply doing the right thing.”
“It felt like we’d lost our way,” Davies adds today. “We’d lost that kind of organic, gut connection with people.”
She says the NDP is rebuilding, and returning to its roots. “It’s about organizing,” she explains. “It can’t just be about an electoral machine. You can’t just connect with people and say, ‘We need money’. It has to be about this history that we have as organizers, as a movement.”
With a lifetime agitating for social change—as an activist, city councillor, and member of Parliament representing Vancouver East—Libby Davies has more than a few good stories to share.
In 1989, for example, she stood on the beach at Spanish Banks and spotted the USS Independence anchored in the water before her. The massive aircraft carrier had nuclear weapons onboard, and Davies wanted to call attention to their presence in Vancouver.
“The famous Greenpeace zodiacs ferried about twenty swimmers to the middle of the Burrard Inlet, and we jumped into the very cold water and began our swim,” she writes in Outside In: A Political Memoir. “The uppermost deck, an overhang where aircraft could land, was a giant shadow that blocked the sky. Every time I lifted my head for a breath I could hear the insults the sailors hurled at us from above.”
The book, scheduled for release on Tuesday (May 7), stands as a master class in activism and an invaluable guide to navigating the crossroads of advocacy, politics, and public policy.
“They so often collide and are misunderstood,” Davies tells the Straight at a café on East Hastings Street. “It’s like ships passing in the night. And so I wanted the book to be about activism, but also about how you make the political world…more accessible to people. How you bring about change, how you work on difficult issues that are not considered mainstream, and how you make progress.”
She emphasizes that activists can compromise on policy without compromising their principles.
“If we don’t use every opportunity and every tool we have to make the system work for us, we’re actually giving up our power,” Davies adds. “It’s all about how you can move forward with your agenda by understanding the environment you are in and sometimes making those difficult choices.”
Outside In also includes peeks behind the curtain in Ottawa, where, Davies reveals, life was not always glamorous and, at first, quite intimidating.
“My room on the second floor came unfurnished,” she writes about her first address in the nation’s capital. “I had a mattress on the floor, a pair of sheets from Zellers, and no personal effects. That reflected my state of mind; I was feeling lost, with serious doubts about being in Ottawa as an MP.
“And so began my new job,” she continues in the book. “I felt lonely and sad but seized with the issue of stopping the criminalization of people who use drugs, which underlay the startling number of drug overdoses and the intolerably high rates of HIV infection.”
The year that Davies was first elected as an MP, 1997, those twin health crises killed hundreds of her constituents. How to get the federal government’s attention was a learning experience for the federal rookie, Davies recounts.
“The very first day, when I was walking down the hall from the House of Commons to the Senate to hear the speech from the throne, [I was] thinking, ‘What the fuck am I doing here?’” she tells the Straight. “If I was going to get anywhere, I had to make allies, I had to win people over, and I had to figure out how the heck it worked.”
Davies says she’s learned many lessons from both sides of the negotiating table.
“It’s about the relationship,” she emphasizes. “Getting your foot in the door and finding how you can work with someone to begin that process of education, understanding, and getting change on the inside through that relationship.”
Davies also warns activists about a few mistakes she’s observed over the years.
“Sometimes people will dump all this stuff on you and they won’t actually ask you to do anything,” she says. “I wanted to reach across the table, shake them, and say, ‘Look, you’re doing it all wrong!’ And sometimes I actually did.”
Davies says she is still applying these lessons to work that remains unfinished today. On sex-workers’ rights, for example—a topic that receives quite a bit of space in Outside In—Davies says reforms must reflect the insight of those affected by the policies in question.
“Listen to the people who have experience and who know what change needs to happen,” she says. “Things changed in the late 1990s and early 2000s on the drug issue because VANDU [Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users] was formed and because VANDU became a powerful voice. It was the voice of drug users themselves who battled and broke down the horrible stereotypes, demonization, and vilification of people who used drugs.
“Any legislative change [on sex work] should not happen without the meaningful consultation and input of sex-worker organizations and individuals,” Davies continues. “Otherwise we’re going to keep getting it wrong.”
Outside In is a loving tribute to Davies's late partner, Bruce Eriksen, to whom she gives credit for her early forays into social justice. Davies also shares fond memories of her current partner Kim Elliott and of close friends such as Jean Swanson, Bud Osborn, and Jack Layton, among many others. With sharp insight, she recounts adventures fighting for affordable housing in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, coming out as Canada’s first openly gay female MP, landing in hot water for supporting Palestinians, and navigating sexism on the Hill.
The year Davies retired from federal politics, 2015, the NDP saw its presence in Parlaiment reduced from 103 seats to 44. Davies points to the party’s campaign position on cannabis as indicative of how the loss occurred. While Justin Trudeau’s Liberals promised full legalization and regulation, the NDP settled on decriminalization, a policy that only goes halfway to legalization, falling short of the sort of real action that it became clear the electorate desired.
“We acted cautiously and too late,” Davies writes in Outside In. “The same with climate change, and natural resource management, including pipelines. We started on the right path and then somewhere along the way let ourselves limp along—becoming cautious and careful when people wanted boldness. As often happens in federal politics, we became focused on ‘managing’ what was perceived as a difficult issue…rather than simply doing the right thing.”
“It felt like we’d lost our way,” Davies adds today. “We’d lost that kind of organic, gut connection with people.”
She says the NDP is rebuilding, and returning to its roots. “It’s about organizing,” she explains. “It can’t just be about an electoral machine. You can’t just connect with people and say, ‘We need money’. It has to be about this history that we have as organizers, as a movement.”
May 26, 2019
I'm not going to pretend this is an unbiased review. I worked for Libby back in the Orange Wave days and her mentorship changed my life and career. I would highly recommend this book if you would like to know why and if you want to feel inspired. If you're an organizer, activist or just hope for a more equitable world, and need a reminder that change isn't always linear and that even our heroes face set-backs.
Libby reflects on her almost 40 years in community organizing, from grassroots Downtown Eastside resident, to city councilor, to House Leader for the Official Opposition. She makes herself incredibly vulnerable in describing her feelings of being unqualified for the roles she took on and where she felt she has made mistakes. She reflects on being a woman in politics back when she had to fight to have her title changed from alderman to city councilor, as well as the imposter syndrome that goes along with it. There is a raw and honest chapter on coming out as Canada's first openly lesbian MP, who came out almost by accident during the equal marriage debate, even if this doesn't completely capture how she self-identifies.
There are parts of this book that are difficult to read. Libby was MP for Vancouver-East during the previous opioid crisis and the years leading up to Pickton's arrest. She is unflinching in describing police and political indifference to the loss and pain of so many deaths within a tight-knit community. Throughout this work she centers the often unpaid community organizers and local residents who made change, fighting for fire suppression in welfare-rate housing, opening North America's first supervised injection site and fighting to have dangerous sex work legislation changed. She remains unbelievably humble and reflective despite rising to one of the highest offices in the country.
Libby reflects on her almost 40 years in community organizing, from grassroots Downtown Eastside resident, to city councilor, to House Leader for the Official Opposition. She makes herself incredibly vulnerable in describing her feelings of being unqualified for the roles she took on and where she felt she has made mistakes. She reflects on being a woman in politics back when she had to fight to have her title changed from alderman to city councilor, as well as the imposter syndrome that goes along with it. There is a raw and honest chapter on coming out as Canada's first openly lesbian MP, who came out almost by accident during the equal marriage debate, even if this doesn't completely capture how she self-identifies.
There are parts of this book that are difficult to read. Libby was MP for Vancouver-East during the previous opioid crisis and the years leading up to Pickton's arrest. She is unflinching in describing police and political indifference to the loss and pain of so many deaths within a tight-knit community. Throughout this work she centers the often unpaid community organizers and local residents who made change, fighting for fire suppression in welfare-rate housing, opening North America's first supervised injection site and fighting to have dangerous sex work legislation changed. She remains unbelievably humble and reflective despite rising to one of the highest offices in the country.
February 20, 2021
Interesting read. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I was more in touch with canadian politics. However, there are still a lot of value in Davies' tellings of the war on drugs and the problems surrounding the criminalisation of sex work.
May 30, 2019
Libby does an outstanding job of outlining a career of activism while navigating the bureaucracy of party politics. It’s engaging, inspiring an an enjoyable read
June 4, 2019
This is a hopeful book - packed full with insights about how to make change happen, working from both inside electoral politics and as a grassroots activist. Davies has been part of extraordinary movements in Canada - from her advocacy for drug users, sex workers, to her work to have housing recognizing as a human right. It is a compelling, candid story, and a a terrific read
August 19, 2019
See my full review here.
Vancouver East politician (city and federal) Libby Davies has worked tirelessly over her political career for the under-represented, advocating on behalf of drug users and sex workers, speaking up in support of Palestinian refugees, and working to have housing made a human right in Canada. I really enjoyed this insider politics memoir, explaining how she learned, over the years, to be a politically astute activist, knowing when to push and when to pull back, though she is also quick to admit dilemmas on ethical stances remain a challenge. Davies includes stories of missteps, but presents herself as always keeping her passion and commitment to the greater cause at the forefront. She is a lifelong New Democrat, but doesn’t shy from criticizing her party at times. She takes aim at a number of opponents, mostly in other parties, chastising their me-first and blatantly sexist approaches and self-serving political manoeuvres. Throughout the book, Davies inspires with her calls for all of us to take action, starting at home, when we witness injustice. I do wish the book had been organized more thoughtfully. Though Davies credits others with guiding her through the writing process, the memoir is often meandering and off-the-cuff. It’s essentially chronological, which means some issues (sex workers for instance) keep coming up. The digital copy I had included lots of black and white photos, and there is space for an index though it was not included. My thanks to publisher Between the Lines for the advance reading copy provided digitally through NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.
Vancouver East politician (city and federal) Libby Davies has worked tirelessly over her political career for the under-represented, advocating on behalf of drug users and sex workers, speaking up in support of Palestinian refugees, and working to have housing made a human right in Canada. I really enjoyed this insider politics memoir, explaining how she learned, over the years, to be a politically astute activist, knowing when to push and when to pull back, though she is also quick to admit dilemmas on ethical stances remain a challenge. Davies includes stories of missteps, but presents herself as always keeping her passion and commitment to the greater cause at the forefront. She is a lifelong New Democrat, but doesn’t shy from criticizing her party at times. She takes aim at a number of opponents, mostly in other parties, chastising their me-first and blatantly sexist approaches and self-serving political manoeuvres. Throughout the book, Davies inspires with her calls for all of us to take action, starting at home, when we witness injustice. I do wish the book had been organized more thoughtfully. Though Davies credits others with guiding her through the writing process, the memoir is often meandering and off-the-cuff. It’s essentially chronological, which means some issues (sex workers for instance) keep coming up. The digital copy I had included lots of black and white photos, and there is space for an index though it was not included. My thanks to publisher Between the Lines for the advance reading copy provided digitally through NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.
June 17, 2019
This is a good read! Especially for people interested in politics, especially progressive politics.
I have followed Libby’s career since she was first elected to Vancouver City Council. She is the most authentically humble, committed person—never mind politician, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting.
This book is just like her: straightforward, honest, insightful. She tells self-deprecating stories about her early years and gives much credit to those who have helped over the years.
It’s a rare inside look at the Canadian political scene from a keen observer. It reads as a series of stories about the key national and local issues of the past30 years, interestingly told.
I have followed Libby’s career since she was first elected to Vancouver City Council. She is the most authentically humble, committed person—never mind politician, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting.
This book is just like her: straightforward, honest, insightful. She tells self-deprecating stories about her early years and gives much credit to those who have helped over the years.
It’s a rare inside look at the Canadian political scene from a keen observer. It reads as a series of stories about the key national and local issues of the past30 years, interestingly told.
August 22, 2019
A fascinating look into the impact Davies and her (deceased) partner Bruce Eriksen's impact on the city of Vancouver, chock-full of interesting history that any Vancouverite can appreciate. Though Eriksen would pass before Davies made the move to Ottawa as an MP for East Vancouver, it was his encouragement that led her to seek the position, and the legacy of social justice he left behind that spurred her on.
Davies deftly straddles the line between activism and politics, creating and advocating for relationships between grassroots movements and legislators. Truly inspiring and a great reference for anyone looking to affect change in this world.
Davies deftly straddles the line between activism and politics, creating and advocating for relationships between grassroots movements and legislators. Truly inspiring and a great reference for anyone looking to affect change in this world.
December 27, 2019
The Libby Davies that I know is a soft-spoken, gentle, good-humored friend who loves to bring her friends together for witty conversation and good food. What a pleasure it has been to read her autobiography and to 'meet' this other Libby - political upstart, firebrand, crusader, and change agent. From her childhood as an 'expat brat' to her early years in Vancouver as a political activist, to the experienced and politically sophisticated MP, Libby's story is fascinating and inspirational. A great read, and what a remarkable woman!
November 27, 2021
Every Canadian, activist, change-maker needs to read this book. Admittedly, I’ve never voted for the federal-NDP, I have profound depth of respect for her. She writes openly about her journey to be voice for a suppressed minority. She talks about the inner working of politics and its complexity in an approachable way. Her book is an excellent case study for achieving change through focused effort.
December 30, 2021
Very interesting memoir that gave me a lot of insight into the way politics works (or doesn’t) in Canada. Davies is an interesting personality who balances grassroots activism with politics in Ottawa. It was good to see how far the country has come in some aspects, but the book also highlights that there’s clearly still so much left to be done.
This is not a heavy or turgid book, which political stories can sometimes be. I found it a very simple and extremely engaging read.
This is not a heavy or turgid book, which political stories can sometimes be. I found it a very simple and extremely engaging read.
September 29, 2025
Really good read if you're a Canadian political junkie!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews