When We Were Outlaws

A sweeping memoir of a young activist torn between her personal life and political goals—fighting at the intersections of the struggle for Gay Rights, Women’s Liberation, and the New Left. Córdova is living with one woman and falling in love with another, but her passionate beliefs tell her that her first duty is “to the revolution”—to change the world for gays and lesbians. As an investigative reporter for the radical L.A. Free Press she becomes involved with the Weather Underground, Angela Davis, and Emily Harris of the Symbionese Liberation Army, kidnappers of Patty Hearst. All this, while creating her own newsmagazine, The Lesbian Tide, destined to become the voice of the national lesbian feminist movement. For those who ask, “What was it like?” Córdova portrays a compelling search for love and identity, set against the landscape of movements that swept hundreds of thousands of Americans into the streets.