An attorney and powerful woman in her own right, Lee Burdick thought she had seen, heard and litigated everything; but nothing could have prepared her for the political firestorm that exploded during her nine-month tenure as a key advisor to San Diego Mayor Bob Filner. Her meteoric rise began as Filner's director of special projects and legal affairs ending as his chief of staff and tracked Filner's self-inflicted implosion leading to his resignation in August 2013.In Bob Filner's Monster: The Unraveling of an American Mayor and What We Can Learn from It, Burdick shares her insider perspective and writes of her experience, insights and feelings during that tumultuous period.She recounts her mixed emotions as she gave up a position on the San Diego Port Commission to join the staff of the city's first Democratic mayor since 1992, particularly given his abrasive reputation and her own personal journey as the sex harassment allegations that led to Filner's resignation and three criminal counts became clear to her. Burdick also writes with admiration of the extraordinary courage of the women she worked alongside at city hall who came forward to shine a light on the mayor's despicable behavior toward them and of her own predicament, to stay or to go, and her ultimate decision to try to bring some leadership and stability to ensure that the people of San Diego continued to be served.