Part I
In this section, Cora Masters Barry recalls her childhood in Oklahoma City, Los Angeles, and Pasadena, California, her education, and her move to Washington, D.C. in 1970 to attend Howard University, attracted by its status as a majority Black city. She describes her entrance into Washington politics via Walter Fauntroy's 1971 campaign for non-voting House delegate, her first meetings with and early impressions of Marion Barry, and her key roles in his 1970s campaigns for DC Council and mayor. Also covered are local economic and social influences on Marion Barry's campaigns, and the impact of his tenure as mayor on city government. Barry relates her opinion of the Black Power movement and other aspects of 1960s and 70s radical politics, their influence on her thinking and on Marion Barry's campaigns, and her later roles as an instructor at the University of the District of Columbia, a member of the D.C. Boxing Commission, and a participant in Jimmy Carter's failed 1980 reelection campaign. She also covers her 1993 marriage to Marion Barry, her feelings about serving as first lady of the District, and the creation of her charity organization the Recreation Wish List Committee and its role in the building of the Southeast Tennis and Learning Center in Congress Heights. She concludes with an anecdote about attending the infamous 1996 Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield boxing match with Dr. Dorothy Height.

Part II
In this section, Cora Masters Barry describes her home in Congress Heights, which she shared with Marion Barry, its decor and art collection, and her feelings about the neighborhood. She elaborates on her initial and later impressions of Marion Barry's character, describes their interactions and relationship during his time as mayor, and her role and activities as a 'reluctant first lady' of the District. Also covered are the influence of Barry's administrations on the arts community in Washington, additional details on the influence of his background in the Civil Rights Movement (particularly the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) on his campaigns, and the transition of their long friendship and working partnership into a romantic relationship. She touches briefly on Barry's experiences during the 1977 terrorist attack on the District Building, and recalls his 1989 drug arrest and his stay in a drug rehabilitation facility in Florida while mayor. She describes Marion Barry's relationship with the local church community, and his deep interest in and affinity for others, and his ability to connect with constituents. Barry recalls Marion Barry's 1994 mayoral campaign, her role in related voter registration work, and popular support in D.C. for his reelection. She also details their travels together in Africa, including Marion Barry's reception there, their meeting Kwame Ture [Stokely Carmichael] in Guinea, their trips to Mississippi and the persistent influence of Marion Barry's early life there on his politics and personal habits. She concludes with a remembrance of her role as an organizer and speaker for the 1995 Million Man March.

Part III
In this section, Cora Masters Barry talks about her experiences on Juneteenth 2020, and elaborates on her time on the DC Boxing Commission and how her previous political experience prepared her to succeed despite the hostility to women she encountered there. Barry also provides more detail about the development and purpose of the Southeast Tennis and Learning Center, her conflict with the Adrian Fenty administration over its management, and how the resulting legal fight and controversy affected Fenty's political capital and mayoral reelection campaign. Barry details the role women played in Marion Barry's administrations and the close, longstanding and supportive network of female friends that grew out of her political work, with a particular emphasis on Maya Angelou and Dr. Dorothy Height. She goes into greater detail about the role of women in the development and planning of the 1995 Million Man March, the relationships that she and Marion Barry had with Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam, as well as her voter registration organizing during Barry's 1994 mayoral campaign. She discusses Marion Barry's assiduous cultivation of relationships in the local church community, as well as experiences at their home church, Union Temple Baptist, and with its pastor, Rev. Willie Wilson, a close political associate. Barry is asked about the role of skin tone in Black social life in DC, talks about the multiracial, multiclass coalition behind Marion Barry's initial mayoral win, and addresses the lack of support of middle class and wealthy Black residents for his campaign. Additionally, she discusses the couple's relationship with the press, including reporters from the City Paper and Washington Post, and the making of the documentary 'The Nine Lives of Marion Barry'. Finally, she provides additional recollections of her travels in Africa in 1987 and 1995, and recounts her attendance with Marion Barry of the 1992 Democratic National Convention, including his meeting there with then-Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly.