Dinners with Ruth: A Memoir of Friendship

Written by Nina Totenberg

Narrated by Nina Totenberg

Celebrated NPR correspondent Nina Totenberg delivers an extraordinary memoir of her personal successes, struggles, and life-affirming relationships, including her beautiful friendship of nearly fifty years with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Four years before Nina Totenberg was hired at NPR, where she cemented her legacy as a prizewinning reporter, and nearly twenty-two years before Ruth Bader Ginsburg was appointed to the Supreme Court, Nina called Ruth. A reporter for The National Observer, Nina was curious about Ruth’s legal brief, asking the Supreme Court to do something revolutionary: declare a law that discriminated “on the basis of sex” to be unconstitutional. In a time when women were fired for becoming pregnant, often could not apply for credit cards, or get a mortgage in their own names, Ruth patiently explained her argument. That call launched a remarkable, nearly fifty-year friendship.

Dinners with Ruth is an extraordinary account of two women who paved the way for future generations by tearing down professional and legal barriers. It is also an intimate memoir of the power of friendships as women began to pry open career doors and transform the workplace. At the story’s heart is one, special relationship: Ruth and Nina saw each other not only through personal joys, but also illness, loss, and widowhood. During the devastating illness and eventual death of Nina’s first husband, Ruth drew her out of grief; twelve years later, Nina would reciprocate when Ruth’s beloved husband died. They shared not only a love of opera, but also of shopping, as they instinctively understood that clothes were armor for women who wanted to be taken seriously in a workplace dominated by men. During Ruth’s last year, they shared so many small dinners that Saturdays were “reserved for Ruth” in Nina’s house.

Dinners with Ruth also weaves together compelling, personal portraits of other fascinating women and men from Nina’s life, including her cherished NPR colleagues Cokie Roberts and Linda Wertheimer; her beloved husbands; her friendships with multiple Supreme Court Justices, including Lewis Powell, William Brennan, and Antonin Scalia, and Nina’s own family—her father, the legendary violinist Roman Totenberg, and her “best friends,” her sisters. Inspiring and revelatory, Dinners with Ruth is a moving story of the joy and true meaning of friendship.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Sep 13, 2022
• ISBN: 9781797147222

Nina Totenberg

Nina Totenberg is NPR’s award-winning legal affairs correspondent. She appears on NPR’s critically acclaimed news magazines All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and Weekend Edition, and on NPR podcasts, including The NPR Politics Podcast and its series, The Docket. Totenberg’s Supreme Court and legal coverage has won her every major journalism award in broadcasting. Recognized seven times by the American Bar Association for continued excellence in legal reporting, she has received more than two dozen honorary degrees. A frequent TV contributor, she writes for major newspapers, magazines, and law reviews.

Reviews for Dinners with Ruth

[Pat Mowery · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved this special reflection on a very special long-standing friendship.

[marcello_324836275 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Thank you, Nina Totenberg, for sharing this most beautiful memoir of RBG. You bring us insight into a true icon and into your own fascinating journey through life, plus a behind-the-scenes look at DC and NPR. I hope your optimism prevails through these perilous days.

[Fred Junior Angasisye · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wonderfully read ,a different perspective on washington and makes you appreciate the friendship you have or dont have,little more

[sharon cruz · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A wonderful look ar a woman I greatly admired, by a close friend and confidant who had great respect for her.

[chrissy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a wonderful listen by the author who shares her friendship with RBG. Sometimes you feel like you are at table with them. It is as much a memoir about Nina as it is about Ruth. I didn’t want it to end!

[Susanne Lunken · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Really enjoyed this book, learning more about the magnificent RBG. Would have liked more personal stories though.

[Veit Johnson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I came across this book quite by accident. First this is one of the most delightful books I have read about Justice Ginsburg. It gives a wonderful description of her life and works. I find that when I can see how they work and why justices have some of the views they have it is difficult to find fault with their decisions even when I do not agree. I have read about a number of justices and have come to the conclusion that often the decisions are usually based on their outlook on life while using past decisions both major and minor to justify their decisions.

[Anne Mowat · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A beautiful meditation on friendship and work. The author doesn’t have the most resonant voice for audio narration, but once I adjusted, I came to value its sincerity. Mainly, she struck a joyful tone. The memoir is saved from being a my-brush-with-greatness exposé by its long narrative arc, charting the evolution of deep mutuality and presence between the author and her friends. It was also wonderful to read about very accomplished husbands who were actively engaged in their wives’ careers, who were actively supportive and present in the marriages. Toward the end, her voice wavered in contemplation of the loss of selected friends, and I was deeply moved by this.

[Lacy Hagan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a fascinating and rewarding life Nina is living! And to have been able to be a close personal friend of RBG and witness her grow into a legend is fortunate indeed.