Barbara Ehrenreich was an American author and political activist. She was the bestselling author of sixteen previous books, including the bestsellers Nickel and Dimed (2001) and Bait and Switch (2005). A frequent contributor to Harpers and The Nation, she has also been a columnist at The New York Times and Time Magazine.
Barbara Ehrenreich was born in Butte, Montana, to a family of miners. Her father earned a degree from the Butte School of Mines and then attended Carnegie Mellon University. It allowed the family to move to Pittsburgh, New York, and Massachusetts before settling in Los Angeles.
Ehrenreich's upbringing in a blue-collar mining town left a lasting impression on her, particularly regarding the effects of corporate greed on working-class communities.
Ehrenreich attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon, where she initially majored in chemistry but ultimately switched to molecular biology and cell biology. However, with the birth of her first child in 1970, she underwent a political and personal transformation that led her to become involved with the women's health movement.
Ehrenreich co-authored the underground bestseller Witches, Midwives, and Nurses: A History of Women Healers (1972), which focused on advocating for better healthcare for women and greater access to health information. This newfound concern for social justice led to a rash decision to quit her teaching job and become a full-time writer.
Though financially difficult, Ehrenreich's work began to gain attention when her feature story for Ms. magazine, The Myth of the Dreaded Menopause and Other Hoaxes, became a cover story and launched her career as a freelance writer.
Since then, Ehrenreich has written numerous essays and opinion pieces on topics related to social injustice and inequality. She has also undertaken book-length projects, often historical, that explore themes of interest to her, such as the history of poverty in America.
Throughout her career, Ehrenreich has remained committed to activism, particularly on healthcare, peace, women's rights, and economic justice.
Ehrenreich saw no conflict between her roles as a journalist and activist, as she believed that seeking truth and taking action to promote justice are intertwined. In 2005, The New Yorker called her "a veteran muckraker."
Since 2013, Barbara Ehrenreich has been an honorary co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America, a progressive political organization dedicated to social and economic justice. In addition, Ehrenreich has been an active member of the NORML board of directors, advocating for the legalization of marijuana.
Barbara Ehrenreich lived in Alexandria, Virginia, where she died from a stroke at a hospice facility.
Photo credit: www.barbaraehrenreich.com
