NPR’s legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg and RBG are two of the most admired and accomplished women of their generation and two women I have looked up to in my adult life. I did not know of their close friendship, so it was joyful to read about the way they supported each other in their working lives, celebrated milestones with spouses and friends, grieved losses, shopped, and navigated the tricky landscape where journalism, the Supreme Court, and friendship intersects. 

That said, I’m not sure exactly how to categorize this book. It’s not a memoir of Nina Totenberg’s professional and personal life, though at times it feels that way. It’s sort of a tribute to RBG, but it often veers away from her. It’s sort of–but not exactly–a meditation or study on the importance of female friendship while navigating male dominated professions like law and journalism, especially in the 1970s and 80s. It’s speckled with some history of the Supreme Court and some breaking news stories of the day (both of which I thoroughly enjoyed).  

And maybe it doesn’t really matter what the book IS. While it seems to lack continuity and sometimes just feels like a journal of numerous reflections, it does, above all, convey Nina’s admiration for the way RBG powered through professional hurdles and numerous harrowing medical challenges, always with grace, dignity, and strength. 

Because they often had to establish a demarcation where Nina remained the journalist and interviewer, the stories often feel less personal and intimate than they would if writing about someone solely as a friend. I enjoyed witnessing this friendship throughout the book, but I also felt a distinct distance–like I was getting more than the general public saw but less than a memoir of friendship might reveal. 

Definitely a worthwhile read, and an added bonus to witness the number of “across the aisle” friendships that once existed in DC: RBG and Antonin Scalia being only one example of many. 

**this book was passed on to me, and I’m happy to pass it on to the next reader. Let me know if you’d like it!