Center for the literary arts in New York State
THE BLOODSPORT OF ALBANY POLITICS
Melissa DeRosa
7 p.m. Wednesday, October 25, 2023
Page Hall, 135 Western Avenue, UAlbany Downtown Campus
Registration required: https://melissaderosa.eventbrite.com
135 Western Avenue, Albany NY 12208 See map.
Melissa DeRosa, one of the most powerful women in New York State government history, shares her gripping story for the first time in her new memoir, hot off the press, What’s Left Unsaid My Life at the Center of Power, Politics & Crisis (published Oct. 24, 2023).
The communications director, chief of staff, and secretary to Governor Andrew Cuomo, DeRosa takes readers on a white-knuckle ride from his meteoric rise to his sudden fall. She also details her journey as a young woman rising to the highest levels of government, writing with raw honesty about the personal challenges she faced—a failing marriage, infertility, death threats, misogyny—while navigating professional landmines along the way.
"All too often, women are defined by the men around them. For all of my life I've been known as the 'daughter of,' 'wife of' 'top aide to.' Writing this book allowed me the opportunity to slow down and reflect on my own journey while giving readers unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to one of the most consequential periods in our nation's history," said DeRosa.
The moderator will be Ken Lovett, currently a partner with Ichor Strategies and previously a reporter who spent 25 years covering New York State politics, including nearly 11 years as the Daily News Albany bureau chief and more than eight years as the New York Post's Albany correspondent.
LISTEN: Melissa DeRosa interviewed by WAMC's Joe Donahue
IN THE NEWS
Book excerpt: "Melissa DeRosa’s inside look on the final days of the Cuomo administration" published in City & State, Oct. 23, 2023
"Melissa DeRosa Isn’t Done Defending Andrew Cuomo" published in Vanity Fair, Oct. 18, 2023
“I think that a lot of people have had a lot to say that has gone unchallenged,” DeRosa said. “That ends in the fall when this book comes out.”
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A memoir from the top aide to former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo during the deadliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, and an investigation that concluded he sexually harassed 11 women, will come out in the fall.
Union Square & Co. will release “What’s Left Unsaid: My Life at the Center of Power, Politics, and Crisis,” on Oct. 24.
Lev Radin/Pacific Press