I, Claudia: The Life of Claudia Lauper Bushman in Her Own Words

by Claudia Lauper Bushman

Available September 17, 2024 in paperback and ebook. Preorder now.

• “With admirable honesty and keen self-reflection, this triumphant memoir expounds on her life as an intelligent, talented woman driven to find her own place in patriarchal religious and secular worlds.” — Lori LeVar Pierce
• “This lively and remarkably generous book holds nothing back.” — Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
• “I, Claudia reveals the inner workings of a woman who fully inhabited yet transcended her own times.” — Maxine Hanks

  
Available in ebook for Kindle, Apple, Google Play, and, Kobo.

Also available through Amazon.

Download a free sample preview.

Book Description:

I, Claudia: The Life of Claudia Lauper Bushman in Her Own Words is a captivating autobiography of a remarkable woman, Latter-day Saint, and scholar. Through a series of vivid anecdotes and reflective essays, Claudia shares her journey from her childhood in California, through her family life, and to her academic pursuits and professional achievements. Her narrative, infused with humor, warmth, and a deep commitment to her community, provides a window into the daily life and challenges of a Mormon woman in the twentieth century outside the Mormon corridor of the Rocky Mountains.

Claudia’s autobiography is, however, more than a personal memoir; it is a testament to the power of storytelling and exemplifies her work with the Claremont Mormon Women’s Oral History Project, which she established to capture the diverse and rich lives of Latter-day Saint women. I, Claudia thus stands as both an inspiring personal journey and a powerful call to action for the preservation of women’s histories.

Comprehensive Table of Contents:

Show/Hide

Praise for I, Claudia:

“This lively and remarkably generous book holds nothing back.  We see the houses the author lived in. We feel her frustrations. We know which of her newborns came feet first.  Her stories are fully present not just because she is a gifted writer, but because she is also a remarkable historian who doesn’t make a fuss about the fact that an almost century-long collection of diaries, letters, snapshots, family histories, personal essays and interviews lies beneath her seemingly seamless recollections. Hats off to I, Claudia!” — Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, author, Well-behaved Women Seldom Make History

“‘If you don't write it down, it didn't happen,’ Claudia has often told the Exponent II community. With admirable honesty and keen self-reflection, this triumphant memoir expounds on her life as an intelligent, talented woman driven to find her own place in patriarchal religious and secular worlds. With poignant storytelling, she details the specific rewards and challenges of doing so while being married to a man who held positions of power in both realms.” — Lori LeVar Pierce, President, Exponent II

“The title evokes the role of a rare witness who sees, knows, lives, and writes history more than most of its participants. I, Claudia reveals the inner workings of a woman who fully inhabited yet transcended her own times—by birthing herself, then mothering, Mormon women’s studies, and mentoring hundreds of women who were trying to do the same in a field that wasn’t yet formed.  Her story is our herstory.” — Maxine Hanks, editor, Women and Authority: Re-emerging Mormon Feminism 

About the Author:

Claudia Lauper Bushman is a mature wife, the mother of six children, and the grandmother of twenty. She is a Californian, educated in Massachusetts, now living in New York City. Claudia has always managed projects, particularly those dealing with women, Mormonism, feminism, and birds and insects. She has written and published six books and believes that everyone should “tell her story.”

More Information:

323 pages
ISBN: 978-1-58958-812-7 (paperback)