YOU CAN’T MAKE THIS STUFF UP: Tales From a Judicial Diva

About the Book

Is it possible to be a judge and have a sense of humor too? Judge Vanessa Gilmore shows us that the answer is a resounding yes! In this humorous, autobiographical collection of short stories, Judge Gilmore reveals a glimpse of life on and off the bench. A master storyteller, and a lover of all things funny, Judge Gilmore would often regale her friends at parties with tales of her life. When she related a story about a criminal defendant who was flirting with her as she took his plea, and another who dressed as king during his trial, her friends insisted that these stories could not be true. This book shows us that life really is stranger and funnier than fiction. From hilarious tales of flirting criminals and fighting lawyers, to heart warming stories of time spent mentoring young girls, we see it all through the eyes of a judge. Vanessa found humor when a man in a restaurant insisted that she should stop saying she was a federal judge because it just sounded too far fetched and vindication when her young son asked if boys could be judges too. This book will leave you laughing and asking if life as a judge can really be this much fun.

About the Author

Judge, Author, Mother are just some of the ways to describe this Renaissance woman. At the time that Vanessa Gilmore was appointed to the federal bench, she was the youngest sitting federal judge in the nation. Unwilling to give up her desire to parent, she adopted her son. Motivated in part by her own experiences and those of other women and families who struggled with work/life integration, she decided to write about adoption. Gilmore is the author of “A Boy Named Rocky”, a book for the children of incarcerated parents and is a frequent speaker on issues related to these children and their families. She is also the author of “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up: Tales From a Judicial Diva”.