title: Plenty Ladylike: A Memoir
author:  Claire McCaskill 
description: "Senator McCaskill is a role model for women who aspire to win on their own terms. <i>Plenty Ladylike</i> is a powerful, unapologetic primer on the successful exercise of real power and what it takes to get it, keep it, and use it. This is a brilliant memoir that nearly explodes with encouragement for women on how to achieve their dreams." (Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook COO and author of Lean In)<br /><br /><i>Plenty Ladylike</i> reclaims hard work, boldness, and tenacity as essential ladylike qualities. Claires successes, from demanding taxpayers dollars are used effectively to passing new protections for victims of sexual assault, make clear that women should run for and demand a seat at the table. (Donna Brazile, Vice Chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee)<br /><br />"Honest and fearless, Claire McCaskill is one of the most authentic and compelling people I have met in public life. In this candid memoir, she recalls a journey of struggle and triumph that underscores the unique challenges women face in a male-dominated arena. It's a great story." (David Axelrod, former Senior Advisor to the President)<br /><br />"Claire McCaskills trademark invincibility was forged in childhood--inspired by exceptional parents, powered by a bone-deep self-confidence, and driven by a defiant rejection of any gender stereotyping that might stand in her way. In her electrifying and bracingly honest memoir, <i>Plenty Ladylike</i>, McCaskill reveals how her tireless ambition and steely spirit fueled the fascinating upward trajectory of her life. I was spellbound by McCaskills story, and I know that women everywhere will cheer along with me at her march into the pages of history." (Marlo Thomas, actress and author of Free to Be...You and Me)<br /><br />"Claire is known by her colleagues for her courage, leadership, and resolve. <i>Plenty Ladylike</i> is an honest and heartfelt look into how she became the first woman from the state of Missouri elected to serve in the United States Senate. Her story is both instructional and inspirational for all people committed to the unfinished business of America: making our nation a place of liberty and justice for all, no matter your race, religion, or gender." (Cory Booker, US Senator)<br /><br /><xml> </xml> "Claire McCaskill has always been a fighter for what she believes in, and a powerful advocate for women."<xml></xml> (Ellen Malcolm, Founder of EMILY's List)<br /><br />A quietly charming, inspiring memoir. (<i>Kirkus Reviews</i>)<br /><br />McCaskills memoir is straightforward, plainspoken, and at once deeply personal and thoroughly political. (<i>Publishers Weekly</i>)<br /><br />"A highly readable, relatively fast moving and surprisingly frank political autobiography." (<i>Kansas City Star</i>)<br /><br />"Vivid detail. . . . What will strike a reader is not only her candidness when talking about the challenges of working with the men she has grown up with in politics but also her willingness to go where few politicians do and talk about deeply emotional parts of her life like her divorce, finding love again and the death of her mom, Betty Anne. . . . Its plenty clear [<i>Plenty Ladylike</i>] is not just another politicians book. . . . Amid stories of the tough road traveled by women in politics, <i>Plenty Ladylike</i> offers a narrative of encouragement for them to do it anyway." (<i>The Joplin Globe</i>)
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  Claire Kent
  
   
  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the
  author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons,
  living or dead, is coincidental.
   
  Copyright © 2014 by Claire Kent. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or
  transmit in any form or by any means.
   
  Content Editing: Kristin Anders, The Romantic Editor.
  Proofreading: Vanessa Bridges, PREMA Romance
   
  
   
  Contents
   
  One
  Two
  Three
  Four
  Five
  Six
  Seven
  Eight
  Nine
  Ten
  Eleven
  Twelve
  Thirteen
  Epilogue
  Excerpt from No Regrets
  About the Author
  
  One
  Mike was big—bigger than Drayton. He was heavy as he lay on top of her, his skin hot and rough
  beneath her hands. Julia loved how it felt to take him inside her, to wrap her legs around his hips, to
  stroke the rippling muscles of his back. And only rarely could she enjoy him as simply and single-
  mindedly as she 