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Passion and Power
A Life in Three Worlds
Passion and Power
A Life in Three Worlds
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Description
Passion and Power is about the life and career of Harriet Newman Cohen, one of the nation's most celebrated divorce attorneys, as she navigated the male-dominated legal world from the 1970s to today.
This sweeping narrative details Harriet's journey through three worlds: raising a family at a time when men held all the power, graduating from law school on the cusp of the “divorce revolution,” and re-fighting old battles over women's rights in today's time of reaction of retrenchment. The frankness with which Harriet relates her own experience is matched by equally candid insights into how a legal system that often rewards bad behavior and irrational decision-making shapes the culture at large and impacts those trying to navigate their way towards a better life. Writing with candor and humor, Harriet describes her encounters with celebrities, mentors, notable judges, allies, and adversaries. She examines many cases but describes three in almost novelistic detail, all drawn from her own practice-including her pivotal role in the “Case of a Lifetime,” the focus of the three-part documentary HBO series Nuclear Family (2021). Harriet is equally honest about the business side of the law-the financial cost and psychological burden these proceedings impose on families and the sometimes-heartbreaking collateral damage. Passion and Power illuminates both a singular life and the legal and social revolution that changed, in fundamental ways, the sexual, financial, and cultural norms governing the most intimate relations between men and women.
Table of Contents
PART I: A MAN'S WORLD
1. You'll Find Out
2. This World and Another
3. Every Unhappy Family
4. Chattering Young Men
Case 1: No Disgrace to be Poor
PART II: AN ADVOCATE'S WORLD
5. Riding the Tsunami
6. Reform…and its Discontents
7. The Divorced and Those about to be Divorced
Case 2: Uncoupling
8. Open for Business
Case 3: Case of a Lifetime
PART III: A NEW WORLD
9. The Names on the Door
10. Kaddish
11. Into the World
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Notes
Product details
| Published | 19 Feb 2026 |
|---|---|
| Format | Ebook (PDF) |
| Edition | 1st |
| Pages | 280 |
| ISBN | 9798765164693 |
| Imprint | Bloomsbury Academic |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
About the contributors
Reviews
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Discretion is one reason [Cohen] is in demand, but as this eminently readable memoir proves, she is uncommonly wase and empathetic. Come for the stories about what can constitute a favorable outcome in a settlement and her successful battles for divorce reform over the decades, and stay for the personal details of a life well lived and well loved.
Air Mail
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[This book is] both an extraordinary legal history and a deeply human story of strength, humor, and transformation. For anyone who believes it's too late to begin again, Harriet Newman Cohen stands as living proof that the most remarkable chapters can come in your ninth decade.
New York Weekly
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With Passion and Power, Cohen provides readers not only with a view into her remarkable life but also a testament to resilience and the ongoing transformations within the judicial landscape. Her experiences underscore that even at a later stage in life, it is possible to reinvent oneself and embrace new challenges.
Filmogaz
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With elegance and grit, Harriet Newman Cohen traces her trailblazing personal and professional journey through the evolving landscape of modern relationships and the law. Passion and Power is as much about the reshaping of American cultural norms as it is about one remarkable woman's outsized role at the forefront of legal and social transformation-a wise and riveting memoir.
Carl Bernstein, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of six books and American journalist
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With Passion and Power, Cohen offers more than memoir; she offers a map for resilience.
Morning Honey
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From the first page, Passion and Power grabs you by the collar and doesn't let go. This book reads like a legal thriller, except every word is true. Harriet Newman Cohen-sharp, fearless, and endlessly compelling-takes us inside the courtrooms, boardrooms, and backrooms where the rules of love, money, and power in America were rewritten. At times heartbreaking, at others deeply inspiring, this is an emotional journey through the triumphs, losses, and hard-won wisdom of a legal pioneer who's seen it all. A truly wonderful book.
Ben Mezrich, New York Times bestselling author of The Accidental Billionaires, Bringing Down the House, and Dumb Money
ONLINE RESOURCES
Bloomsbury Collections
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