Table of Contents
Author's Note xi
Prologue xiii
Introduction: "Somewhere out there is what you want to do" xvii
Chapter 1 "It's like a performance of femininity" Becoming Miss America: October 2018 1
Chapter 2 "Something electric in the room" 1980 19
Chapter 3 "They can exploit me any day' 1970s 40
Chapter 4 "Until there is nothing more to win" Becoming Miss America: January 2019 62
Chapter 5 "It couldn't just be a beauty contest" 1921 77
Chapter 6 "Miss New York is going to win" 1983 87
Chapter 7 "You cannot let down for a second." Becoming Miss America: June 2019 132
Chapter 8 "Do you think I'm the first woman to have an interest?" 1991 157
Chapter 9 "I wanted to be a little out of the box" Becoming Miss America: November 2019 188
Chapter 10 "Everyone wanted something from me that I couldn't give them." 2007 201
Chapter 11 "You don't leverage the Godfather" 2017 227
Chapter 12 "That title isn't going to win everything" 2018 262
Chapter 13 "There she is …" Becoming Miss America: December 2019 276
Epilogue 295
Acknowledgments 301
Notes 303
Index 349