Author and activist Barbara Ehrenreich dead at 81

Best-selling author, activist, and journalist Barbara Ehrenreich, whose book Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America has become hallowed text in the realm of social justice literature, died Thursday at the age of 81. The cause was a stroke, per her daughter, Rosa Brooks.

"She was, she made clear, ready to go," son Ben Ehrenreich tweeted Friday. "She was never much for thoughts and prayers, but you can honor her memory by loving one another, and by fighting like hell."

In researching Nickel and Dimed, which details the inequities and difficulties of surviving on minimum wage in America, Ehrenreich immersed herself in the world of waitressing and housekeeping, where she "quickly found that it took two jobs to make ends meet," The New York Times summarizes. "Every job takes skill and intelligence, she concluded, and should be paid accordingly."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

Ehrenreich's writing dealt with a variety of complex issues, including women's rights, health care, and poverty. In addition to her over 20 books, she also penned articles and essays for The New York Times, The Washington Post Magazine, and The Atlantic, among other outlets.