We the Purple: Faith, Politics, and the Independent Voter

In the same what-you-see-is-what-you-get voice that fans of Diary of a Misfit got to know and love, Ford gives a personal overview of the misunderstood, ill-defined estimated 42 percent of American voters known as Independents. In her informal, conversational way, she not only offers a peek at the trajectory she followed to independent political thinking, but provides a map through the maze of organizations, blogs, movements and philosophies of her fellow Purples. The insights of an eclectic representation of such folk, ranging in age from 23 to 87, illustrate the diversity of voters unwilling to toe a party line. A woman of faith, Ford dislikes any pigeonholing of her politics based solely on her religious beliefs. If anything disappoints about this highly accessible must-read for anyone feeling lost in the current political process, it's the lack of a formal conclusion, which feels a bit like Ford went to refill her cup and forgot to come back to the table. Still, elected officials should make this required reading, as should political independents.