NOTE: I received a free eBook copy of this book from LibraryThing's Early Reviewers (March 2022).

Women's history and women's rights are topics that are close to my heart that I learn about whenever I can. Nevertheless, I learned something new on every page of Kate Kelly's "Ordinary Equality," which relates the stories of the largely unsung women and queer people who changed the course of history in the United States, paving the way for woman suffrage and the progression of the Equal Rights Amendment. The book relates the lives and achievements of a diverse cast of protagonists, offering a new perspective on familiar figures (e.g., Abigail Adams, Phillis Wheatley, and Alice Paul) as well as an introduction to those about whom I knew nothing (including Molly Brant, Martha Wright Griffiths, and Patsy Takemoto Mink). Through the inclusion of notables such as Crystal Eastman and Matilda Joslyn Gage, Kelly highlights key figures in women's rights who had been written out of the suffrage movement previously. In reading "Ordinary Equality," it is impossible not to get inspired by the tales of ordinary people achieving great things. Readers will walk away from the book energized to take a stand on women's rights in their own communities. ( )

Rating: 3.5* of five, rounded up because it's too important a topic not to

The Publisher Says: We are all living through modern constitutional history in the making, and Ordinary Equality helps teach about the past, present, and future of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) through the lives of the bold, fearless women and queer people who have helped shape the U.S. Constitution. Ordinary Equality digs into the fascinating and little-known history of the ERA and the lives of the incredible—and often overlooked—women and queer people who have helped shape the U.S. Constitution for more than 200 years.

Based on author Kate Kelly’s acclaimed podcast of the same name, Ordinary Equality recounts a story centuries in the making. From before the Constitution was even drafted to the modern day, she examines how and why constitutional equality for women and Americans of all marginalized genders has been systematically undermined for the past 100-plus years, and then calls us all to join the current movement to put it back on the table and get it across the finish line. Kate Kelly provides a much-needed fresh perspective on the ERA for feminists of all ages, and this engaging, illustrated look at history, law, and activism is sure to inspire many to continue the fight.

Individual chapters tell the stories of Molly Brant (Koñwatsi-tsiaiéñni / Degonwadonti), Abigail Adams, Phillis Wheatley, Matilda Joslyn Gage, Alice Paul, Mary Church Terrell, Pauli Murray, Martha Wright Griffiths, Patsy Takemoto Mink, Barbara Jordan, and Pat Spearman, and features other key players and concepts, including Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Title IX, Danica Roem, and many more.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Women of every age and station shouldn't need to fight for equality, it should be theirs by birthright. Sadly, that is not the case here in the US (or most other places in the world). These quick hits of informative prose illustrated quite appealingly with scenes or faces of the people profiled are a bit too short for me. I wasn't taken with the author's acid asides, either. This is a quibble, because I read the book straight (!) through and really should've browsed it bit by bit over days. Anyone needing to chuckle instead of scream at the state of our political landscape could use this as a tonic: It was ever thus, best to laugh then gird your loins for the next round.

There will always be a next round. ( )

This book is a deep look at the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and the women who have and continue to fight for it. While the book discusses women who could have influenced the founders the bulk is focused on the ERA. I enjoyed that the author added some interjections into the text which added to the conversationality of the book. The artwork throughout the book was well done. There is an endnotes section as well as information about how to get involved with groups working to pass the ERA. In the opening chapters that dealt with Indigenous women, I would have found a pronunciation guide helpful. I was familiar with some of the women featured in the book but not all of them. There were some notable women missing from the book and I wondered what criteria was used to decide who was included and who was not. ( )

In general, an engaging and valuable addition to the field of women’s history, even if the subtitle oversells the premise a bit. The profiles of the women who predate the Constitution, let alone the ERA, don’t always make a strong case for their having influenced those legal documents. Also, for me, the numerous sassy or ironic asides — as if the author doesn’t quite trust you to grasp how misogynistic a given quote/law/behavior is if she didn’t comment on it — interrupt the narrative instead of enhancing it. But kudos to Kelly for expanding the conversation and helping bring some lesser-known (and sometimes completely unknown) names to light. ( )