Mention the Harkin name in Iowa and most will recognize it because of Iowa’s long-time US Senator and Congressman Tom Harkin. However, Ruth Harkin has an incredible legacy of her own. In fact, she was the first one elected to public office during their marriage. She has been a force since she was a little girl helping and learning alongside her grandmother in Minnesota. In When My Husband Ran for President and Other Short Stories, it’s her turn to share lessons, memories, and parts of the lasting influences she has provided her family, Iowans, and the nation.

“During her lifetime, Ruth has witnessed the beginnings and the blossoming of the women’s movement of today – and we can see from these short stories that she has been there on the cutting edge, living it…”–Patricia J. Beneke, Former Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Water and Science, Senior Counsel to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and Regional Director and Representative, United Nations Environment Programme; Adjunct Professor of Law

“It’s the little things—like Presidential candidate Tom Harkin rushing home off the campaign trail to meet (and interrogate) his teen-aged daughter’s first date—that make Ruth Harkin’s memoir so endearing. It turns out that Ruth Harkin, who has been a powerful Washington lawyer as well as a top executive and director at large corporations and head of an important federal agency—is also a fine writer with an eye for detail. Her vignettes tell us a lot about politics, about Washington, about family and marriage as well as about an adventurous man who simply wanted to make the world a better place.”—Michael Gartner, Pulitzer-prize winner

“Few have grown up on a small farm in southwestern Minnesota to attend black tie dinners at Pamela Harriman’s Georgetown mansion. Ruth’s career included becoming a partner at one of the world’s largest and most prestigious law firms and president of a billion dollar corporation. Ruth’s career and Tom’s seat in the House & Senate gave them a front row seat in the world of Washington power politics.”—Charlie Cook, Cook Political Report

“Well, yes, I did have a short run for President, and in case you missed it, or never heard of it, Ruth has captured the essence of it here. Ruth’s keen observation and pen makes ordinary people seem special and extraordinary, sometimes laughable, sometimes heroic, and always endearing. You will recognize them in your own life.”—US Senator Tom Harkin

“Ruth Harkin takes readers beyond the bulletin points of her successful resume, into life as a young woman, friend, adventurer, and mother. Although the reader will understand her feelings about boats upon delving into this delightful book of essays, Ruth has been the rudder of the ship-of-Harkin, guiding their vessel through calm and heavy seas. Her vignettes guide us behind the scenes of one of the most impactful families in Iowa and the world.”—Julie Gammack, founder of the Okoboji Writers’ Retreat and Iowa Writers’ Collaborative

“Delightful and wonderfully written. I felt drawn in again and again. The account of the presidential campaign was powerful.”

—Richard Gilbert, former owner of the Eagle Grove Eagle, press secretary to Governor Robert D. Ray, and past executive of The Des Moines Register and Tribune

All author proceeds will go to the Tom and Ruth Harkin Institute.

Cohosted by West Des Moines Library and the Harkin Institute at Drake University.