On the Plutopia News Network podcast, former Republican strategist Jen Thompson discusses her memoir, Wild Pivot: Notes from a Political Life Rewritten, and the near-fatal car crash that prompted her to question her beliefs, ambitions, and identity. Raised in a conservative Christian household that prized conventional success, Jen describes how her pursuit of power and approval led her into politics before she left for Australia and gradually embraced progressive values and a career in higher education. She reflects on her responsibility for policies she promoted, the sexism she endured in Washington, and the years of therapy, meditation, and personal reflection that helped her confront trauma and a punishing inner critic. Written as nonlinear vignettes, her memoir explores the difficult, ongoing work of transformation, encouraging readers to examine inherited convictions, take responsibility for their choices, and recognize vulnerability as a source of strength.
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Jen Thompson:
I remember thinking , who am I? What do I believe? I was raised in a very Christian conservative household, with a very successful and driven father who wanted that for me, and so I landed in law school and after that became a lawyer in the House and then in the Senate, and was really promoting Christian conservative values on that campaign. So when I was in the ambulance, that moment changed the course of my entire life. It took days and weeks and months and years. Decades, really. But that’s what I remember feeling. I was pulled from the jaws of death, and who am I? I remember thinking I was a fraud and not living an authentic life to what I really was, even though those were the values I was promoting.