In this collection of essays and speeches, which marks a milestone for the feminist movement, Lord tackles sexism, racism, homophobia, class discrimination, imperialism, and the tricks by which the system turns the oppressed against one another.

With sharp yet lyrical language, she highlights the complex and interconnected aspects of oppression, both external and internalized, and reminds us that we cannot build the new world with the materials of the old: "The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house." She speaks for poor women, for Black women, for lesbians, for older individuals – but ultimately she speaks for everyone who exists outside and beyond what society defines as acceptable and "normal."

By showcasing the differences among us as a means of action and change, as "a reservoir of necessary polarities that, with the help of our creativity, can ignite the spark of dialectics," she ultimately calls us to live our lives as honestly, unapologetically, and inclusively as possible.

Rightly, many chapters of this collection have found their place in university curricula and have become the subject of extensive academic and political analysis.