Little Pink House: A True Story of Defiance and Courage

It was a pretty engaging read about compelling subject matter, but there was one thing that annoyed me to no end. All of the major players were referred to by their last names except for the two women, who were only referred to by their first names. I could sort of understand it for Susette Kelo, since she is the sympathetic lead figure. But referring to Claire Gaudiani, the head of the New London Development Corp, almost exclusively as Claire seemed like a subtle way to demean and belittle her, especially compared to the other pro-development forces who were given a more even-handed depiction.

Susette Kelo survived a troubled childhood and two unhappy marriages and had decided to start her life all over again. She bought a little cottage near the Thames River in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood of New London, Connecticut. She worked on the house, even sanding the hardwood floors by hand. At around the same time, Claire Gaudiani was appointed chairman of the New London Development Corporation. Claire decided that Pfizer Corporation should locate their new research and development headquarters on the Thames River in New London and would stop at nothing to get her way. Once she talked Pfizer into it, she had to acquire all of the land she wanted for the project. The New London Development Corporation persuaded the city of New show more London to give them eminent domain and they went after the Fort Trumbull neighborhood. In the past, eminent domain had been used to build roads or schools or hospitals - now, it was being used to chase out homeowners for a private development that would pay more tax dollars.

Little Pink House: A True Story of Defiance and Courage by Jeff Benedict is the story of Susette Kelo and the Fort Trumbull neighborhood and their fight against eminent domain. This case went all the way to the United States Supreme Court.

I listened to this audio book and thought it was fantastic. It is read by Maggi-Meg Reed and she does a phenomenal job. There is a lot of legal information in this book, but it is written so that the average person can understand it. I found myself admiring the people who stood their ground and fought and I found myself really angry at the New London Development Corporation and their bullying tactics. show less

The story behind the Kelo case that gave communities broad rights to eminent domain. The "Little Pink House" is Ms. Kelo's home that she was trying save from the wrecking ball. The City of New London wanted to take it and the rest of her neighborhood for redevelopment into an upscale hotel and retail area to complement a nearby redevelopment for Pfizer. She would not leave and took the legal battle to the Supreme Court.

The view is clearly one-sided, from that of Ms. Kelo. The officials of the local development agency are portrayed as evil single-minded, power-hungry schemers, willing to do anything to get their way. Even if the view is only half-correct, their actions are very bad.

When Susette Kelo’s five boys grew up and moved out of the rural house she shared with her husband it became apparent that their marriage was no longer working. Susette made the decision to leave him and move out on her own. Having also made the decision to use no money from their joint account all Susette was able to afford was a small fixer upper on the waterfront in New London, Connecticut.

Around the same time Susette purchased her new home and began to fix it up. The New London Development Corporation was formulating a plan to re-develop the waterfront which included the Ft. Trumbull area where Susette’s house was located by selling the land to the pharmaceutical company Pfizer.

When Susette and more than a few of her neighbors show more refused to sell, the city and the NLDC tried to take their homes using eminent domain, the law which allows the state to seize a citizen's private property for public use. What resulted was court case that made it all the way to the Supreme Court and a fight that lasted over 9 years.

Blurb: “In Little Pink House, award-winning investigative journalist Jeff Benedict takes us behind the scenes of this case -- indeed, Susette Kelo speaks for the first time about all the details of this inspirational true story as one woman led the charge to take on corporate America to save her home.“

The amazing spirit of Susette Kelo and the other families that refused to leave is so moving. They refused to back down when it seemed impossible that they would ever win. I admire they way Susette showed no sign of weakness in front of the big corporation and the rest of her opposition.

The news stories about the case became national news and the Supreme Court ruling became one of the most unpopular rulings of all time. Since this case states either have or are considering amendments to the eminent domain law which prohibit the state turning over land seized under the guise of public use over to private corporations.

My review is based on the abridged audio version which was read by Maggi-Meg Reed. I think that listening to this as opposed to reading gave me a better mental picture of Susette as fighter and a strong woman to admire. I highly recommend this book to readers of all genres as it is an inspirational story. show less