The Art of Power: My Story as America’s First Woman Speaker of the House

Content Warning: This section includes discussions of physical and political violence.

Nancy Pelosi reflects on her motivations for entering politics, highlighting her Catholic faith (she quotes several scriptures in this chapter) and commitment to children as central drivers of her career. Drawing from the teachings of civil rights leader John Lewis, she emphasizes the importance of honoring every person’s divine spark. Her faith also inspires her to challenge hypocrisy, such as the historical contradictions between Christian worship and the treatment of enslaved people. 

As a mother of five, Pelosi also feels a deep responsibility to ensure a safer world for all children, both at home and abroad. Her motivation to be in politics is to address the fact that “one in five children in America […] go to sleep hungry each night. How could it be that in America […] one in five children lives in poverty?” (3) she asks.

Pelosi acknowledges the challenges she has faced as a woman in power. She has had to confront societal discomfort with women holding authority. She also had to confront her own discomfort with power. During the days when Pelosi was a volunteer in the California state Democratic Party, she had multiple titles.