Passion and Power

With elegance and grit, Harriet Newman Cohen traces her trailblazing personal and professional journey through the evolving landscape of modern relationships and the law. Passion and Power is as much about the reshaping of American cultural norms as it is about one remarkable woman’s outsized role at the forefront of legal and social transformation—a wise and riveting memoir. – Carl Bernstein, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of six books and American journalistFrom the first page, Passion and Power grabs you by the collar and doesn’t let go. This book reads like a legal thriller, except every word is true. Harriet Newman Cohen—sharp, fearless, and endlessly compelling—takes us inside the courtrooms, boardrooms, and backrooms where the rules of love, money, and power in America were rewritten. At times heartbreaking, at others deeply inspiring, this is an emotional journey through the triumphs, losses, and hard-won wisdom of a legal pioneer who’s seen it all. A truly wonderful book. – Ben Mezrich, New York Times bestselling author of The Accidental Billionaires, Bringing Down the House, and Dumb MoneyIn Harriet Newman Cohen’s Passion and Power, loss and suffering are among life’s guarantees. So are love and success—if you can find the patience and determination within yourself to open doors everyone but you sees as closed. With each door Harriet opened, what wild dreams came true. – Beowulf Sheehan, American photographer known for portraits of authors, artists, and celebritiesA captivating book packed with intriguing vignettes about the famous and not-so-famous who’ve overcome life’s troubles with the help of a whip-smart lawyer just as lively and engaging as the book itself. – Amy Gadja, journalist, author of Seek and Hide, lawyer, and professor of Brooklyn Law SchoolA terrific story! Not only the deeply personal memoir of an extraordinary woman and attorney, but a fascinating exploration of the way we live now and the way we lived then. Harriet Cohen was in the ring for the major battles over divorce law and the rights of women, sure, but she also surrounds these stories with rare insight into how America has fared and why. There are major moments and bold-faced names. There’s also plenty of dead-on, no-nonsense observation and advice. Read this book…even if you’re planning to stay married. – Ross Klavan, screenwriter of Tigerland, author of SchmuckA page-turner from beginning to end, Passion and Power is the story of one remarkable life and an idiosyncratic, witty, and absorbing tour through recent USA history. Harriet Newman Cohen is a funny and edifying guide—precise, curious, warm. Entirely unsentimental. Marriage and its many paths to dissolution is rich territory and this book is filled with the strange, glamorous, desperate, and sadistic characters you hope to meet in the very best novels. I can’t wait to read it again. – Gillian Linden, author of Negative Space

Harriet Newman Cohen has been practicing law since 1974 and is a founding partner of Cohen Stine Kapoor LLP, a matrimonial and family law practice. A recognized advocate for divorce law reform, she publishes regularly in The New York Law Journal and comments on legal issues on television and radio, online and in the print media, as well as to bench and bar. She is on the Board of Directors of the Lotos Club in New York. Ms. Cohen is also the author of The Divorce Book for Men and Women (1994).

David Feinberg, a graduate of Columbia University, is an award-winning journalist and editor.