Interview —— Chief of Staff Pia Carusone On Working For Rep. Gabrielle Giffords

Pia Carusone on the job with Rep. Giffords in Arizona/2009

By Pamela Burke

Facebook: GGiffords
Twitter: @rep_giffords

UPDATE: 12/4/11–Giffords Aide Pia Carusone Takes Command of Office

Right now Pia Carusone has one tough and demanding job in Washington, DC, as Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords’ Chief of Staff.  Since the Tucson tragedy in January when Giffords was critically wounded by a gunshot to the head, Pia’s office has been handling the needs of the people her boss represents in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District.

Along with this, the staff has been dealing with the loss of one of their own, the steady barrage of media questions, and the public’s concern about Gabby’s condition.

“The experience has been the most difficult and emotional one that I’ve ever gone through.”  Pia

An added daily pressure is the historic final launch of the space shuttle Endeavour at the end of the month commanded by Gabby’s husband, Capt. Mark Kelly.

So far Pia’s holding steady.  This 30-year-old  keeps a low profile and gives most of the credit to the incredible group she and Giffords work with in DC and Tucson.

Rep. Giffords, Pia, and the Washington, DC staff/2010

After seeing Giffords’ remarkable day by day recovery, I was looking forward to talking to Pia about dealing with the stress of her job, holding the office together, and the strength of her courageous boss…

Interview: Rebecca Traister On Why “Big Girls Don’t Cry” —— The 2008 Election

Rebecca Traister’s new book “Big Girls Don’t Cry” gives extraordinary insight into the presidential campaign of 2008 and an election she says that “changed everything for American women.”

This journalist and writer about politics and gender for Salon uses her coverage of the election as a jumping off point for her analysis of  what happened during that history making year.

A reader emailed that she wanted Rebecca to be interviewed for this website.  “Rebecca gave a lot of thought to the warp-speed with which women have transformed–and been transformed by–the political arena,” wrote my friend.

“…there is nothing wrong with wanting a woman to interrupt the history of white male presidential power. That’s actually a progressive impulse…”
Rebecca Traister

The more I read the book, the more questions I had for Rebecca about this transformative election and her non-teary title.  She answered them all… 

Laura Bush Writes From Her Heart

The former first lady chronicles her life in “Spoken From the Heart” with, as some critics write, candor and no meanness.

To read a review:

LA Times

An interview:

USA Today

Have you read this book? What did you think of it?