Prairie Lights, Ice Cube Press, and the Iowa City Public Library are delighted to welcome Ruth Harkin to our space! She will talk about her new book, When My Husband Ran for President and Other Short Stories. She will be joined in conversation by fellow former Iowa Board of Regents member Bob Downer.

“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

Ruth Harkin, attorney, was one of the first female prosecutors elected in the United States and was elected county attorney of Story County, Iowa, where she served from 1973-1979. She has served as a deputy counsel for the United States Department of Agriculture and was appointed Chair and Chief Executive Officer of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) by President Bill Clinton. A member of the Iowa Board of Regents from 2005 to 2015, she was inducted in to the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame in 2018. She is a partner with her husband Former US Senator Tom Harkin in founding and operating the Harkin Institute in Des Moines.

“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