Welcome to my studio.
If you have navigated here, you might be doing a little thinking about your life. Perhaps you are considering making a pivot, looking to have impact, creating social change, contemplating your personal or professional path, exploring politics, engaging in activism or maybe, you are desperately seeking to solve a big problem.
A Life Made From Scratch, my prescriptive memoir about building movements, coalitions, organizations, activist groups and political campaigns "from scratch", shares my life's stories and lessons. The corresponding planning guide series will help you with the tangible part of planning your pivot, political campaign, movement or life move. Getting started is always the hardest part! These books help solve specific problems in your life: building social movements, coalitions, life pivots, entering politics, managing family mental health issues, raising LGBTQ kids, new businesses, and more.
"An uplifting, timely political memoir about fighting for the underdog with a focus on actionable steps."
-- Kirkus Reviews
A LITTLE ABOUT MARIE
Marie Newman is a former congresswoman, nonprofit CEO, marketing executive, author of A Life Made from Scratch and When Your Child Is Being Bullied: Real Solutions, antibullying activist, former Moms Demand Action spokesperson and national LGBTQ+ advocate. In addition to those roles, she is a mom of two adult children, consultant and podcaster. Marie Newman is known for building movements and solving the toughest problems. Marie’s next book, her memoir, will be released March of 2025, (pre-order starts in February) A Life Made From Scratch. Her motto has always been, when you do not see the solution you desperately need, make it from scratch!
Marie has been frequently interviewed on MSNBC, CNN, Fox, NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS over the last decade for her congressional work and prior to that, her activism. She has also been interviewed by The New York Times, Elle magazine, Teen Vogue, Ms. Magazine, The New Yorker, Washington Post, USA Today, Chicago Tribune, The Chicago Sun Times and many other national publications. She has penned multiple OpEds on hot topics over the last several years. Newman is a sought after speaker by national organizations and universities on women’s rights, gun reform, LGBTQ rights and economic equity across the nation before, during and after her time in Congress. She lives in Lagrange, Illinois with her husband and beagle, Iggy. Marie is working on a new novel, a work of fiction, likely to be released in 2026 and a new podcast launching in 2025.
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Early Review
“As a former colleague in Congress, I was always impressed with Marie’s remarkable journey through her family, business and political challenges. Her story is inspirational but also instructive to those looking to make a pivot in their lives. Her stories are interesting, refreshingly honest and helpful.”
---Congressman Ro Khanna, CA-17
MY BOOKS
A Life Made From Scratch is a brutally honest, frequently funny, prescriptive memoir of Marie Newman’s rise to “controversial” congresswoman as a mother of a transgender daughter, antibullying activist, and marketing executive who took on the Chicago Political Machine and won. She shares the difficult lessons learned from her hard-fought political and business wins/losses, while building social change movements as well as managing her family’s transitions and ongoing mental health struggles.
When women read A Life Made From Scratch, they will feel they are hearing the stories of a friend and how to find greater purpose while dealing with the gritty messiness of day-to-day life. Marie’s stories help women know when to walk through fire, when to pivot, and how to build their own life solutions from scratch. The engaging stories, lessons and takeaways sprinkled throughout the book provide much more than just inspiration and empowerment, her stories and lessons provide a path with tools and actionable insights that will help women get beyond the obstacles and build their own life solutions from scratch. Making it even more tangible, she also has built a Life Made From Scratch Planning Guide Series to help folks research, plan and execute their own "made from scratch" solutions. See the planning guides in the Books section.​
"An uplifting, timely political memoir about fighting for the underdog with a focus on actionable steps." --Kirkus Reviews
Early Review: "If you have this book, it will be like a best friend. You’ll never feel alone. Marie gives you the courage to do something you’ve always wanted to try even if it’s daunting and provides the specifics of how to get it done. This book talks to you in a way that you’ll find immersive, surprising and deeply personal."
--Jodee Blanco, New York Times bestselling author, Please Stop Laughing At Me
Early Review: "The story of Marie’s improbable journey from reluctant activist to politician-on-a-mission is filled with robust lessons and an inside look into being a change agent while in Congress. Her personal stories are inspirational and the political revelations are instructive and eye opening. A fascinating read."
--Ryan Grim, author, journalist and bureau chief, The Intercept
A Life Made From Scratch is a brutally
honest, frequently funny, prescriptive memoir of Marie Newman’s rise to “controversial” congresswoman as a mother of a transgender daughter, antibullying activist, and marketing executive who took on the Chicago Political Machine and won. Pre-orders start in January and will be delivered in March.
The Life Made From Scratch Planning Series is a group of workbooks that provide information about how to research, plan and execute a life change or solve a "life fire." Because of Marie's varied life experiences, she has developed six specific planning guides on key topics to help folks get to their goals faster: A major life pivot, building a social movement, managing family mental illness, building a political campaign, starting a small business and supporting and raising a transgender child.
Designed to help parents, families and schools protect children, help when dealing with the effects of bullying and to prevent bullying in schools and communities. This book reveals to readers what works, what doesn't and how to find the right resources to help. Marie and her co-author help families, parents, schools and students work together to build strong communities, free from bullying. Highly recommended by experts for its pragmatic and accessible advice.
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
"How often do you get to read a book that entertains, enlightens and energizes in equal doses? Marie Newman’s A Life Made from Scratch grabs you from the jump and just keeps grabbing until you’re genuinely bummed it’s over. Marie deftly weaves personal and professional stories that are soul-bearing -- at times heart-crushing -- and ultimately inspiring and uplifting. But wait, there’s more! It’s chock-full of practical advice and action-oriented gameplans for people of all personalities, ages and professions. Marie is a next-level champion of underdogs (and actual dogs), and her motivating memoir is a must-have manual for anyone who wants to make their world better – internally, locally and globally." -Lisa K Nelson, Screenwriter/Producer Netflix, Sony, CBS
Types of Speaking Engagements—Clients Who Seek My Services:
Corporations, Small Business and Entrepreneurial/Innovation Groups, Community Groups, Political Groups, Women’s Groups, College and University Groups, LGBTQ Groups, Mental Health Family Support Groups
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contact: marienewmanspeaks@gmail.com
JOIN OUR COMMUNITY
Sharing ideas, observations, analysis and occasionally explainers around politics, women & leadership, mental health &families, healthcare, entrepreneurship, economic inequity, social movements.
UPCOMING EVENTS
PLEASE JOIN US AT OUR NEXT EVENT (New events are added regularly)
-March 15th, Peoria, IL -Peoria Public Library
-Book Launch on March 18, 2025, 7pm at Barbara's Bookstore, Lombard, IL
-March 20th in Lagrange, IL
-March 26th in Glen Ellyn, IL
-March 27th in Chicago, IL (Wrigleyville)
-March 30th in Western Springs, IL
-April 3rd at Silver Room Bookstore in Chicago, IL (Hyde Park)
-Early to Mid-April in Beverly (Southwest Chicago)
-Early April, Barnes & Noble, Orland Park
-April 6, Bridgeview, IL
-Mid April, Washington DC
-Late April, Phoenix, AZ
-April 26th, Dapper's East, Chicago
-April 27th, Lagrange, IL
-May 4th at Anderson's Bookstore in Naperville, IL
-May 14th, Oak Park, IL Library
-Mid-May, The Book Cellar Bookstore
-Late May in Seattle, Washington
-June 5th, in Portland, Oregon
To RSVP: Email your name, email address, location and date desired to marienewmanspeaks@gmail.com. We will promptly email you a confirmation and exact address
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TUNE IN TO OUR PODCAST
Lessons learned from the most intimate and insane moments of college, back when you were the smartest stupid person ever. Join Pete Griffith and Marie Newman as they share stories of folks who learned a thing or two in college, most frequently outside the classroom.
