An intimate, inspiring memoir by educator and labor union leader Karen Lewis, a formidable fighter, a staunch defender of teachers and students, and a beloved Chicagoan.

In 2012, Karen Lewis led the Chicago Teachers Union to a historic strike, challenging the city’s powerful mayor, energizing a progressive political movement nationally, and paving the way for an unprecedented wave of teacher strikes across the U.S. in the decade since. 

But Lewis’s life took her in rich and surprising directions long before she landed in the CTU president’s office. I Didn’t Come Here to Lie, written in collaboration with historian and education scholar Elizabeth Todd-Breland, tells Lewis’s story in full for the first time, capturing her lively wit, her charisma, and her commitment to building the schools and communities teachers, students, and families deserve. 

Until her untimely death from brain cancer in 2021, Karen Lewis was a spirited political force. She remains a model for current organizers and teachers doing the day-to-day work of building a better world. I Didn’t Come Here to Lie is a testament to one of the true revolutionaries of her generation.