Daring to Struggle, Daring to Win: Five Decades of Resistance in Chicago’s Uptown Community Paperback – November 15, 2022

Helen Shiller, the alderman for the 46th ward in Chicago for many years, has given us a detailed look at not only of her extensive, untiring work for the underserved of Uptown Chicago , but also a view of her personal life struggles and how she came to be such an unrelenting servant of "the people." Shiller shows every reader just how "much it takes" and what is the cost of this kind of service. But she does so with an integrity and vulnerability that is refreshing and "rings true" to anyone called to this type of service to their fellow human beings. Shiller was the "real deal." And I, personally, felt blessed to know her and stand with her on the many issues and concerns facing us both...(I'm referring to the Jesus People Community that I have been a member of for the past 48 years.)

This is a clear, straightforward description of how things get done in Chicago, helping people to organize and grab power and change things in their neighborhoods to make their lives better, to find work, to get healthcare, to get good housing and Helen has been very successfully organizing, doing this for over 50 years in her neighborhood Uptown, across Chicago, Illinois and our country. this is the best description of scene of what goes on in the neighborhoods, and how people can change things dramatically, including the election of Harold Washington.I think you’ll find this is a great instruction, and a great history of what really has happened in Chicago at the neighborhood and across the whole city level.

With rich detail, insight, and candor, Helen Shiller portrays her journey as an activist who perseveres to get things done to improve people's lives. She is a masterful storyteller about living inside Chicago politics. While her story is about Chicago, the obstacles and strategies will resonate with social activists in other urban areas. Hers is a compelling story. Catherine Marienau, Ph.D. Professor Emerita, DePaul University

Great book, accurate, insightful and well written. It covers turbulent and sad times, celebrates the wins and the struggles of the dedicated people who worked to make lives of low income and underrepresented better and help everyone’s voice be heard. A must read!

I chewed through this book in a couple of days. Highly recommend it.

Grateful to read HS's true story.

Love the book. She is telling it like it is from the streets. William

Helen Shiller shines a revealing light on the workings of Chicago politics and governance with a unique combination of insider and outsider viewpoints. As an unlikely but repeatedly re-elected city alderman for almost a quarter century, she had an insider's view of how the city's sausage gets made. As an activist and committed opponent of Chicago's political business-as-usual, she shows how broad groups of citizens failed to be served effectively and fairly, and narrates her many, often fiercely-resisted efforts to improve outcomes for them. With a focus on life in the ward she lives in and represented (one of 50 such subdivisions in the city, and one with exceptional diversity of residents) Shiller tells relatable human stories to illustrate broad points of how citizens can be better served. In the form of a personal memoir, this is a book that offers inspiration and guidance for the long game required to make a city like Chicago a better place for all citizens.