Roberta Kaplan with THEN COMES MARRIAGE

About the Author

Roberta Kaplan is a partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. Since winning United States v. Windsor, she litigated the case against the gay marriage ban in Mississippi and filed The People s Brief in the Supreme Court case of Obergefell v. Hodges. She lives in New York City with her wife and son.

LISA DICKEY is a journalist who most recently cowrote The Woman Who Wouldn't Talk with Susan McDougal and Pat Harris. She lives in Washington, D.C.

Description

Renowned litigator Roberta Kaplan knew from the beginning that it was the perfect case to bring down the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Edie Windsor and Thea Spyer had been together as a couple, in sickness and in health, for more than forty years enduring society's homophobia as well as Spyer's near total paralysis from multiple sclerosis. Although the couple was finally able to marry, when Spyer died the federal government refused to recognize their marriage, forcing Windsor to pay a huge estate tax bill.

In this gripping, definitive account of one of our nation's most significant civil rights victories, Kaplan describes meeting Windsor and their journey together to defeat DOMA. She shares the behind-the-scenes highs and lows, the excitement and the worries, and provides intriguing insights into her historic argument before the Supreme Court. A critical and previously untold part of the narrative is Kaplan's own personal story, including her struggle for self-acceptance in order to create a loving family of her own.

Then Comes Marriage tells this quintessentially American story with honesty, humor, and heart. It is the momentous yet intimate account of a thrilling victory for equality under the law for all Americans, gay or straight.