Thursday, August 20, 2015
8:00pm (reception 6:30-7:30pm)

Anne and Jerry Moss Theatre
Herb Alpert Educational Village
New Roads School
3131 Olympic Boulevard
Santa Monica, CA 90404

PURCHASE TICKETS 
$20 General Admission seating
$30 Reserved Section seating
$45 Reserved Section Seating + McCaskill’s memoir
$95 Includes pre-event reception (6:30-7:30pm), Reserved seat, book

Sen. Claire McCaskill was the first woman from Missouri elected as a United States senator in 2006 and continues to serve in that position today. She has a BA and a JD from the University of Missouri, and worked for the Jackson County prosecutor’s office before she was elected to her first state legislature position in the Missouri House in 1983. She lives in St. Louis.

Though Claire McCaskill grew up in a political family, it was not a time that welcomed women with big plans. Paying her way through law school by working as a waitress was just a glimpse of her unfettered determination and the start of a bright political career. By 1982, McCaskill had set her sights on the Missouri House of Representatives. Knocking on doors for support, typically, voters would say: “You’re too young”, “your hair is too long;” or “you’re a girl….Go find yourself a husband.” That door was slammed in her face, but she always pressed on—first as a prosecutor of arsonists and rapists, and then all the way to the door of a cabal of Missouri politicians who held secret meetings scheming to block her legislation.

In this candid, lively, and forthright memoir, Senator McCaskill describes her uphill battle to become who she is today. She details aspects of her personal life—from her failed first marriage to a Kansas City car dealer (the father of her three children) to her current relationship with a Missouri businessman, who she describes as “a life partner”—and highlights moments of her career such as her ups and downs with Bill and Hillary Clinton and her decision to endorse Barack Obama’s candidacy. She also touches on her relationship with her daughter, Maddie, who encouraged Claire at a time when she wasn’t sure what to do.

From the day she was elected homecoming queen of her high school class to her long shot reelection as Senator after secretly helping to nominate a right wing extremist as her opponent, Claire has loved politics and winning. Her memoir is unconventional: unsparing in its honesty, full of sharp humor and practical wisdom, and rousing in its defense of female ambition.

Ina Jaffe is a veteran NPR correspondent covering the aging of America in all its variety. Her stories on Morning Edition and All Things Considered have focused on older adults’ involvement in politics and elections, dating and divorce, work and retirement, fashion and sports, as well as issues affecting long term care and end of life choices. She also has a regular spot on Weekend Edition with Scott Simon called “1 in 5” where she discusses issues relevant to the 1/5 of the U.S. population that will be 65 years old or more by 2030.

Ina also reports on politics, contributing to NPR’s coverage of national elections in 2008, 2010, and 2012.