Texas Tornado: The Autobiography of a Crusader for Women's Rights and Family Justice

By Louise Ballerstedt Raggio

At the age of eighty-three, Louise Ballerstedt Raggio is an icon in the struggle for women's equality. She began her life in a small Texas town without electricity or running water and has risen to become a legend in the legal profession and celebrated humanitarian. Texas Tornado recounts the personal and professional journey of this remarkable woman whose life is an inspiration for women everywhere. From her poverty-stricken childhood to her stellar academic career as valedictorian and Rockefeller scholar, Raggio recalls her early life with humor and grace. In her own indomitable voice, she tells of her years as the dedicated wife who stood by her husband through forty-seven years of marriage; her struggle to raise her three children while attending law school; her battles with depression, financial insecurity, and life-threatening health problems; and her personal suffering during the Communist witch-hunts of the McCarthy years. Through tragedy, she managed to triumph, surmounting educational barriers, family expectations, religious restrictions, and professional blockades. Texas Tornado also chronicles the incredible legal career of this firebrand crusader, from her beginnings as a law student in a male-dominated school to her demoralizing search for a job in 1950s Texas, to her success in starting her own law practice and her crusade to win property rights for women. Raggio would eventually change the law forever, removing 44 legal restrictions to give married women equality in Texas. Her victories in Texas helped pave the way for women in every state to gain equal access to credit and start their own businesses. She became a heroine for businesswomen everywhere and eventuallyearn a place as one of the nation's 30 most outstanding family lawyers. Written with the poignancy and inspiration of Sandra Day O' Connor's Lazy B., this is a memoir that will hearten a whole new generation of women to overcome barriers and become full participating citizens in their world.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0806524480
• ISBN13: 9780806524481
• Release Date: February 2003
• Publisher: Citadel
• Length: 292 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 1.0" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

Texas Tornado

A must read for every woman and particularly for Texas women. A real eye opener to the legal position of women in Texas before the passage of the Family Law that is now the law in Texas. Such a spunky woman and a real role model for today's woman. Today's woman too often forgets how far we have come and the women who made this possible.

Texas Tornado??

I thought that Colin Edwards was the Texas Tornado?? MotoGP ring a bell!?? Good Luck at Brno CEII!! This book on women's rights is great by the way, except for they shouldn't have any!! ;) For the guys on the Drizunken forum!

Texas Tornado

The book is not only a rich history of the fight for women's rights in Texas and the US but a wonderful look into the life of an incredible woman. The story is told with such warmth that you end up loving this tough, spunky, little woman. The book is a must read for every lawyer in the state of Texas while also a wonderful example of a dedicated wife (under often horrid circumstances) and a devoted mother. Louise Raggio is definitely a Texas Tornado.