A Wild and Precious Life

A Memoir

By: Edie Windsor, Joshua Lyon

Narrated by: Donna Postel, Joshua Lyon

Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

A lively, intimate memoir from an icon of the gay rights movement, describing gay life in 1950s and 60s New York City and her longtime activism which opened the door for marriage equality.

"Mesmerizing." (Rosie O’Donnell)

Edie Windsor became internationally famous when she sued the US government, seeking federal recognition for her marriage to Thea Spyer, her partner of more than four decades. The Supreme Court ruled in Edie’s favor, a landmark victory that set the stage for full marriage equality in the US. Beloved by the LGBTQ community, Edie embraced her new role as an icon; she had already been living an extraordinary and groundbreaking life for decades.

In this memoir, which she began before passing away in 2017 and completed by her co-writer, Edie recounts her childhood in Philadelphia, her realization that she was a lesbian, and her active social life in Greenwich Village's electrifying underground gay scene during the 1950s. Edie was also one of a select group of trailblazing women in computing, working her way up the ladder at IBM and achieving their highest technical ranking while developing software. In the early 1960s Edie met Thea, an expat from a Dutch Jewish family that fled the Nazis, and a widely respected clinical psychologist. Their partnership lasted forty-four years, until Thea died in 2009. Edie found love again, marrying Judith Kasen-Windsor in 2016.

A Wild and Precious Life is remarkable portrait of an iconic woman, gay life in New York in the second half of the twentieth century, and the rise of LGBT activism.

©2019 The Judith M. Kasen- Windsor Revocable Trust (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. “The Prophets” from Collected Poems by W. H. Auden, © 1976 by Edward Mendelson, William Meredith and Monroe K. Spears, executors of the estate of W. H. Auden. Used by permission of Random House, an imprint and division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved. Excerpt from Anna’s Country by Elizabeth Lang (pseudonym of Nancy Dean) appears courtesy Special Collections, Vassar College Libraries.

Such a beautiful audiobook!

Triumph tears and lots of love. Proof that you can continue to love even in your 70’s. What a beautiful story about a beautiful woman who changed the history of LGBTQ life in America. This memoir was so well written with such wonderful feelings that it brought many tears of joy and love for Edie and the many, many people she has helped in her life. This is a MUST LISTEN!

Phenomenal Story

A phenomenal Story and reminder of the struggles-of how far we have come and how far we have yet to go! A story of passion, of love, and of a life so we'll lived!

Amazing Book

One of the best biographies I've ever read. Wasn't keen on the male reader/author at first, but the story structure soon made up for the initial displeasure of hearing a male voice tell a female story. This was really well written and well told.

Stunning book and performance

I loved it. This book warmed my queer little heart. I finished the book feeling heartwarmed and invigorated for more organizing. What a strong, interesting, capable woman.

A Life-Changing Biography of a Courageous Woman

This should be required reading for every American. In the land of the free, fairness is everything.

Amazing life.

Great book about an amazing woman. A life well lived. Hats off to you Edie.

LIFE ALTERING

Not only is this book eloquently written, listening to Josh narrate, knowing how close Edie and Judith grew to him, was something special and out of this world! The woman who narrated Edie was astounding also. I WISH THIS WAS A SERIES, COME ON NETFLIX! Great job to all those involved in the creation of this masterpiece!

🏳️‍🌈 Wow! 🏳️‍🌈

I was so lost at times that I thought Edie herself was narrating her story. 10 stars for an absolute icon and civil rights pioneer. Thank you for everything you’ve done Edie & thank you Judith, Donna and Joshua for telling her story so beautifully!

Thx you

I chose this book because I wanted to know the woman that allowed me to marry my wife I didn’t expect an extremely well written book boy was I surprised. this book was written so amazingly I feel as though these women are my friends now. they’re people I know. I’m honored to have had the ability to get to know them in this book and I’m extremely grateful for what they’ve done for future generations. I love my wife with all my heart and I am proud to call her my wife because of the sacrifices
Edie Windsor made