Rootstock Publishing, a Montpelier-based publisher and imprint of Multicultural Media, Inc, announces the release of A Lawyer’s Life to Live, a memoir by Kimberly B. Cheney, Vermont Attorney General (1973-1975), of Montpelier, Vermont.
A Lawyer’s Life to Live is about a unique time when Vermont culture was ready for change, and one young lawyer heeded the call. In 1965, Kim Cheney worked for a law firm in New Haven, Connecticut, trying cases involving fights about money. Wanting to contribute to more socially minded work, and rekindle his love of nature, Cheney, with his wife and two young kids, moved to Vermont in 1967. The journey led to rising political influence as Cheney became Attorney General of the State, among other roles. The memoir also covers the Paul Lawrence Affair, a disintegrating marriage, newfound love, adoption and reunions, and a return to private practice with a dedication to creative innovation for public benefit.
“Politics and law are bedfellows with opportunities for life challenges,” says Kim Cheney. “My story is one I never imagined. I hope readers will feel they have learned about a life well lived personally while making positive social changes,” he says.
Advance praise for A Lawyer’s Life to Live:
“If Atticus Finch had written a memoir of his complete life as a country lawyer, I believe it would have read much like A Lawyer’s Life to Live.” –M. Jerome Diamond, Vermont Attorney General (1975-1981)
“Personal and poignant, the memoir reveals how a child of relative comfort and privilege grows up to dedicate his life to public service and the pursuit of justice. With occasional humorous anecdotes and insights, Cheney captures the nuance and human complexities of the law.” –Robert Sand, founding Director of the Center for Justice Reform, Vermont Law School
“Kim Cheney has...written a fascinating and introspective memoir of his public life, with humble and poignant glimpses into his private life...Most notable are Cheney’s accounts of corruption within the state’s police forces and his efforts to clean it up.” —Bernie Lambek, Montpelier, Vermont lawyer and author of Uncivil Liberties: A Novel
A Lawyer’s Life to Live is available locally at Bear Pond Books in Montpelier, on Amazon, IndieBound, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, and on Rootstock Publishing’s website, www.rootstockpublishing.com.
About Kimberly B. Cheney
In 1964, Cheney, after four years of active duty in the U. S. Navy, graduated from Yale Law School and began work in a law firm in New Haven, Conn. In 1967, he moved with his family to Montpelier, Vermont, where Cheney began eight years of state government service as counsel to the Department of Education, State’s Attorney of Washington County, and Attorney General during a time of social turmoil, and rapid political change. Cheney has 43 years of private practice law in Montpelier including criminal law, personal injury, and divorce, while serving on several boards and commissions leading to establishment of a functioning Public Employees Labor Relations board. He received the Whitney North Seymour Arbitration Medal from the American Arbitration Association in 1985. Cheney is now retired. A Lawyer’s Life to Live is his first memoir.
About Rootstock Publishing
With offices in downtown Montpelier, Vt., Rootstock Publishing is a hybrid publisher and an imprint of Multicultural Media, Inc. Their books have won multiple book awards such as the IPPY, Foreword INDIES, the IBPA Ben Franklin Award, and Independent Book Publishers of New England awards, among others. They publish poetry, fiction, and nonfiction book manuscripts by authors from all over the globe. Learn more at rootstockpublishing.com.