Lead from the Outside: How to Build Your Future and Make Real Change

Consider the book’s Epigraph by Audre Lorde, “When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid” (16). What is the significance of Lorde’s statement for the themes of the book?

Abrams admits at times that the advice she offers is simple or cliché, as in the case of “first things first,” in which she encourages readers to be guided by their passions. Do you find Abrams rises above cliché in her advice? Which counsels do you find most insightful?

Abrams says that she is an introverted, private person but presents throughout the book an honest account of her mistakes and misgivings. How differently might you have perceived the advice of the book if Abrams had written only of her successes and triumphs?

Each chapter is replete with references to mentors, family members, and people encountered on the campaign trail and on the job. How do these references, which are more typical of memoir writing, enrich this self-help guide?

Abrams uses the pronoun “we” throughout the book to mean “minority leaders,” “leaders,” “members of minority or marginalized groups,” “members of the ‘genteel poor,’” and so on. Why do you think Abrams preferred to write toward a “we” in-group, her primary audience, at the risk of alienating other readers? How might reading this book be beneficial to people in Abrams’s secondary audience, the people whose experiences are not represented in these pages?

Are you convinced by Abrams’s alternative to work-life balance: “Work-Life Jenga” (219)? What other models might you propose for managing your priorities and responsibilities?

Write a short memoir essay about a person whose mentorship changed the course of your life.

How have your ambitions changed over time? Plot your changing goals and aspirations. Can you pinpoint a life event that prompted each change?