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Random House to Publish Gloria Steinem's Memoir, AN UNEXPECTED LIFE

Gloria Steinem

On March 25, 2026, her ninety-second birthday, Random House announces the forthcoming publication of AN UNEXPECTED LIFE: A Memoir (Random House) by writer and activist Gloria Steinem, to be published on September 22, 2026.

In this candid and revelatory work, Steinem traces her early life and the unlikely path that led her to become one of the world’s most influential voices for equality. She writes of a childhood shaped by constant motion—traveling with her itinerant father, caring for her mother, and discovering the power of books—alongside the formative experiences that awakened her political consciousness

Steinem recounts pivotal moments that would shape her life’s work, from the stark lessons of poverty in her youth to her participation in historic movements for women’s rights. She reflects on her years in India, where she learned from nonviolent resistance, and on her decades of global travel advocating for justice, community, and human dignity. Moving between memory and the present, Steinem examines the progress and setbacks of more than sixty years of activism and offers a message to new generations about what the ongoing fight will require—and the imagination it will demand.

Intimate, funny, and rich with hard-earned wisdom, AN UNEXPECTED LIFE offers readers the rare opportunity to learn directly from one of feminism’s most enduring voices as we continue the work of building a better future for all.

Gloria Steinem is the author of MY LIFE ON THE ROAD, OUTRAGEOUS ACTS AND EVERYDAY REBELLIONS, REVOLUTION FROM WITHIN, and THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE, BUT FIRST IT WILL PISS YOU OFF! A cofounder of Ms. magazine, she has been a central figure in feminist movements worldwide for more than six decades.

AN UNEXPECTED LIFE will be published as a Random House Hardcover. An audiobook edition will be released simultaneously by Penguin Random House Audio. The World rights deal was negotiated by Kim G. Schefler at Levine Plotkin LLP with V.P., Executive Editor Jamia Wilson. Rights: Denise Cronin: decronin@penguinrandomhouse.com