logo

36 pages 1 hour read

Stacey Abrams

Lead from the Outside: How to Build Your Future and Make Real Change

Stacey AbramsNonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 2018

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Important Quotes

Quotation Mark Icon

“For those of us on the outside, the quest for power is always rigged. Sometimes it’s because we don’t know how to gain entry, or because the winners get to play by a different set of rules.”


(Preface, Page 20)

The metaphor of acquiring power as a game runs throughout Abrams’s book. Winners gain the ability to write the rules in their favor to assure further victories. Everyone else on the field competes at a considerable disadvantage, if indeed they are allowed to compete, and must learn how to abide by new rules if they want a fighting chance.

Quotation Mark Icon

“I was afraid that outside the comfort of my black women’s college, I would prove all those who had looked down on me correct […] Because at twenty, I had fully internalized all the ‘-isms’ that taught me to strive but not exceed my limits.”


(Introduction, Page 26)

In a moment of vulnerability, Abrams admits to a fear of having to compete with people who didn’t look like her and who didn’t believe she belonged. Abrams notes that this fear came from the social conditioning of her environment—racism, sexism, and classism—that became part of her thinking and deterred her from trusting in her power.

Quotation Mark Icon

“This book is for the outsider looking for the magic decoder ring for how to gain and hold power. But let’s be clear—there isn’t one.”


(Introduction, Page 36)

The use of the word “magic” highlights a potential reader’s desire to find easy avenues to power and instantaneous solutions for obstacles. Abrams says, simply, that there is no such magical remedy, especially not for people outside of established systems who must fight their way in. The book’s tips, examples, and worksheets will help readers help themselves.

blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
Unlock IconUnlock all 36 pages of this Study Guide

Plus, gain access to 8,650+ more expert-written Study Guides.

Including features:

+ Mobile App
+ Printable PDF
+ Literary AI Tools

Related Titles

By Stacey Abrams