Gloria Steinem has spent more than half a century living out of a suitcase. Not because she had to, but because she found that the real world doesn't happen in offices or television studios. It happens in the back of taxis, on Greyhound buses, and in the "talking circles" of rural India. When I first picked up Gloria Steinem My Life on the Road, I expected a standard memoir—a chronological "I did this, then I did that" sort of deal. Instead, what I found was a chaotic, beautiful, and deeply moving map of how to actually listen to people.
It's a book about movement.
Steinem basically argues that if you stay in one place, you start to believe your own hype. You get stuck in a bubble. But the road? The road is the great equalizer. Honestly, it’s the antidote to the "us vs. them" mentality that seems to be everywhere lately.
The Father Who Taught Her to Wander
You can't talk about this book without talking about Leo Steinem. He was a wanderer, a man who sold antiques out of the back of a trailer and never saw a "No Trespassing" sign he didn't want to ignore. Gloria spent her first ten years living this itinerant lifestyle. No regular school, no permanent bedroom—just the open highway and the next adventure.
- The Lesson of the Open Road: Her father had a "faith in a friendly universe."
- The Cost of Stability: While Leo loved the road, Gloria’s mother, Ruth, paid the price. She was a journalist who had to give up her career, eventually suffering from a mental breakdown that left a young Gloria as her primary caregiver in a crumbling house in Toledo.
That tension—the joy of wandering versus the need for a "real home"—is the heartbeat of the narrative. It's why Steinem didn't buy a home until she was in her fifties. She was terrified that a house would be a "coffin for the living."
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Why Gloria Steinem My Life on the Road is a Masterclass in Listening
The most surprising thing about this memoir isn't the famous people Steinem met, though they are there (from Bobby Kennedy to Wilma Mankiller). It’s the strangers. There is a whole chapter dedicated just to taxi drivers. She calls them "vectors of modern myths."
She writes about how a cab driver in New York or a flight attendant on a long haul can teach you more about the state of the union than a thousand op-eds. One of my favorite stories involves her trying to "save" a turtle by moving it back to the water, only to be told by a local that the turtle had spent a month crawling away from the water to lay eggs.
It’s a metaphor for activism: If you don't listen to the people you’re trying to help, you might just be making things worse.
The Power of Talking Circles
In India, Steinem witnessed "talking circles" where everyone speaks and everyone listens until a consensus is reached. No hierarchy. No "man-terrupting." Just humans linked, not ranked.
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She took this model and applied it to the feminist movement in the U.S. Along with partners like Dorothy Pitman Hughes and Florynce Kennedy, she traveled to campuses and community centers. They didn't just give speeches; they listened to the "outrageous acts" of everyday women.
Politics from the Passenger Seat
The section on political campaigns is... dense. But it’s real. Steinem doesn't sugarcoat the sexism of the 60s and 70s. She recalls being in a cab with Gay Talese and Saul Bellow, where Talese basically dismissed her as a "pretty girl" pretending to be a writer.
She stayed in the game anyway.
She covers the heartbreak of the 1968 election and the grueling Clinton-Obama primary of 2008. But she focuses on the organizers—the people in the "makeshift offices" with ringing phones and no sleep. She shows that change isn't a lightning bolt; it’s a slow, grinding trek through mud and rain.
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Practical Takeaways for Your Own Journey
If you’re looking for a way to break out of your own echo chamber, this book is basically a manual. You don't have to be a world-famous activist to live "on the road."
- Leave your door with an open mind. Adventure starts the second you decide not to seek out the familiar. Stop at the weird roadside diner. Talk to the person sitting next to you on the train.
- Practice "Linking, Not Ranking." Next time you're in a meeting or a family dinner, try to see how the dynamics change when you prioritize listening as much as speaking.
- Acknowledge your "unlived lives." Steinem realized she was living the life her mother couldn't. Recognizing who paved the way for you changes how you walk your own path.
- Embrace the "Surrealism of Everyday Life." Life is weird. Lean into the coincidences and the odd connections.
Gloria Steinem My Life on the Road ends with a dedication to Dr. John Sharpe, the physician who provided her with an illegal abortion in 1957. He told her at the time, "You must promise me two things. First, you will not tell anyone my name. Second, you will do what you want to do with your life."
She kept that promise. And in doing so, she gave us a roadmap for how to live a life that is both deeply personal and widely impactful.
If you want to understand where the modern movement for equality came from—and more importantly, where it’s going—start by getting on the road. Grab a copy of the book, but then put it down and go talk to someone you usually ignore. That’s where the real story begins.
To get started, you might want to look into local "talking circles" or community organizing groups in your area to see how the principles of grassroots listening are being used today.