Paula Hawkins Popular Books

Paula Hawkins Biography & Facts

Paula Hawkins (née Fickes; January 24, 1927 – December 4, 2009) was an American politician from Florida. She is the only woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Florida. She was the second woman ever elected to the Senate from the American South. She was the first woman in the country to be elected to a full Senate term without having a close family member who previously served in major public office. Early years Hawkins was the eldest of three children born to Paul and Leone Fickes in Salt Lake City, Utah. Her father was a Naval Chief Warrant Officer. In 1934, the family moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where her father taught at Georgia Tech. Her parents split when Paula was in high school, and Leone and the children returned to Utah. She finished high school at Richmond, Utah in 1944, then enrolled at Utah State University. Paula was hired to be the Athletic director's secretary and met her future husband. On September 5, 1947, Paula Fickes and Walter Eugene Hawkins were married and moved to Atlanta. Gene earned a degree in electrical engineering and eventually opened his own business. The couple had three children before moving in 1955 to Winter Park, Florida, where Paula became a community activist and Republican volunteer. Politics She began her electoral career by campaigning as a consumer advocate. She became the first woman elected to statewide office in Florida by winning a seat on the Florida Public Service Commission in 1972. Hawkins was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate in 1974, which was won by Jack Eckerd. She was reelected to the Public Services Commission in 1976. In 1978, she was the Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor on the ticket headed by Jack Eckerd. They lost to State Sen. Bob Graham and State Rep. Wayne Mixson. In 1980, she was elected to the United States Senate representing Florida, becoming Florida's first woman elected to the United States Senate and the fifth from the South. U.S. Senate In 1980, she defeated former Congressman Bill Gunter to win election to the United States Senate; she was Florida's first woman elected to the United States Senate and only the fifth from the South.Outgoing Senator Richard Stone resigned three days before his term ended, and Bob Graham as Governor of Florida nominated Hawkins to fill the two-day vacancy, giving her seniority over the other freshmen senators. She was the first woman senator to bring her husband to Washington, D.C. As a result, the Senate Wives' Club became known as the Senate Spouses' Club. Hawkins was particularly active in the realm of child welfare. She was a key figure in advocating and passing the 1982 Missing Children's Act, and in 1983 chaired the Investigation and Oversight Subcommittee of the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee, where she launched an investigation of the increase of children reported missing. In 1984 she spoke at the Third National Conference on Sexual Victimization of Children, where she stunned listeners by disclosing that she herself had been the victim of sexual abuse as a child. She subsequently authored, Children at Risk, My Fight Against Child Abuse: A Personal Story and a Public Plea, which was published in 1986.In 1984, she was co-chairwoman of the platform committee at the RNC.Senator Hawkins, in 1985, participated in the Record Label Hearings of the Senate's Commerce Committee, where the issue of labeling musical songs was examined, after the Parents Music Resource Center initiative. During the hearings, Hawkins had a notable altercation with testifying musician Frank Zappa, who eventually invited the senator to his home to see first-hand "what kind of toys" his children are playing with.Hawkins was known during her tenure for saying and doing things many considered bizarre. She was most infamous during her first year in office for hosting a luncheon in an ornate Senate dining room of New York sirloin steak, tossed salad, baked potatoes, fresh asparagus, hot apple pie, and fresh strawberries and other citrus in which she railed against the "truly greedy" and proposed mandatory jail time for food stamp cheaters. Critics dubbed it the "steak and jail" luncheon (a pun on Steak and Ale).Hawkins once again faced Bob Graham on a statewide ballot when she campaigned for re-election to the Senate in 1986. The Governor defeated her by 55 percent to 45 percent, the largest margin of defeat for an incumbent Senator in 1986. Post-Washington activities Hawkins returned to Winter Park in early 1987. She was United States representative to the Organization of American States' Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) for seven years before leaving active politics. She remained involved behind the scenes in central Florida and her endorsement was sought by many candidates. Hawkins was named a director of Philip Crosby Associates in 1988. She joined the board of Nu Skin Enterprises in 1997. She was a life-long member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Health In a freak accident, a television studio partition toppled and struck her in early January 1982 during an interview at WESH-TV in Winter Park, Florida. While not life-threatening, the mishap aggravated a back injury she suffered years before in an automobile collision and caused constant pain which plagued her during her years in Washington. Senator Strom Thurmond, in his capacity as President pro tempore, gave her the use of a room in the Capitol building for a hospital bed where she found pain relief under weighted traction during breaks between congressional activities.Hawkins' right side was paralyzed in 1998 as the result of a severe stroke. After this, she used a wheelchair. She stayed active, appearing on October 1, 2009, at the opening ceremony of the Waldorf Astoria Orlando at Walt Disney World. Death Hawkins died at the age of 82 on December 4, 2009, of complications from a fall she suffered the previous day. Electoral history 1978 Florida Governor/Lt.Governor Bob Graham/Wayne Mixson (D), 56% Jack Eckerd/Paula Hawkins (R), 44%See also Women in the United States SenateReferences External links United States Congress. "Paula Hawkins (id: H000374)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Appearances on C-SPAN. Discover the Paula Hawkins popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Paula Hawkins books.

Best Seller Paula Hawkins Books of 2024

  • Mirrorland synopsis, comments

    Mirrorland

    Carole Johnstone

    “Unnerving.” People “Unsettling...unlocks its mysteries slowly.” The New York Times Book Review “A dark, twisty, and richly atmospheric exploration of the power of imagination” Rut...

  • Invisible Girl synopsis, comments

    Invisible Girl

    Lisa Jewell

    AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER“I absolutely loved Invisible GirlLisa Jewell has a way of combining furiously twisty, utterly gripping plots with wonderfully rich characteriza...

  • The Elizas synopsis, comments

    The Elizas

    Sara Shepard

    Harper’s Bazaar | 10 New Books to Add to Your Reading List in 2018 Cosmopolitan | Best April Ever Roundup Bustle | 35 Most Anticipated Fiction Books of 2018 PopSugar | 10 of the M...

  • The Turn of the Key synopsis, comments

    The Turn of the Key

    Ruth Ware

    INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “A superb suspense writer…Brava, Ruth Ware. I daresay even Henry James would be impressed.” Maureen Corrigan, author of So We Read On “This approp...

  • None of This Is True synopsis, comments

    None of This Is True

    Lisa Jewell

    INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERFrom the #1 New York Times bestselling author known for her “superb pacing, twisted characters, and captivating prose” (BuzzFeed), Lisa Jewell retu...

  • The Perfect Stranger synopsis, comments

    The Perfect Stranger

    Megan Miranda

    From the author of the New York Times bestseller All the Missing Girlsthe gripping story of a journalist who sets out to find her missing friend, a friend who may never have existe...

  • The Secrets She Keeps synopsis, comments

    The Secrets She Keeps

    Michael Robotham

    “Two terrific female characters, both with secrets. Add Michael Robotham’s clean prose and whipcrack pacing. The result? A book you won’t be able to put down, although you may occa...

  • A Slow Fire Burning synopsis, comments

    A Slow Fire Burning

    Paula Hawkins

    AN INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERThe scorching new thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Girl on the Train.   “A Slow Fire Burning twists and tur...

  • No One Knows synopsis, comments

    No One Knows

    J.T. Ellison

    In this riveting and complex thriller from the author of Lie to Me, a woman must figure out if she’s losing her mind, or if her husband has really returned from the dead…The day Au...

  • Luckiest Girl Alive synopsis, comments

    Luckiest Girl Alive

    Jessica Knoll

    NOW A NETFLIX FILM STARRING MILA KUNIS Fans of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train will thrill at this “perfect pageturner” (People)that Reese Witherspoon describes as “one of thos...

  • The Last House Guest synopsis, comments

    The Last House Guest

    Megan Miranda

    A Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club Pick and New York Times bestsellerA year after a summer guest dies under suspicious circumstances, her best friend lives under a clou...

  • The Woman in Cabin 10 synopsis, comments

    The Woman in Cabin 10

    Ruth Ware

    INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER FROM THE AUTHOR OF IN A DARK, DARK WOOD Featured in TheSkimm An Entertainment Weekly “Summer Must List” Pick A New York Post “Summer...

  • Such a Quiet Place synopsis, comments

    Such a Quiet Place

    Megan Miranda

    From the New York Times bestselling author of The Last House Guesta Reese Witherspoon Book Club selectioncomes a riveting, “suspenseful” (BookPage, starred review) novel about a my...

  • I Found You synopsis, comments

    I Found You

    Lisa Jewell

    “Readers of Liane Moriarty, Paula Hawkins, and Ruth Ware will love.” Library Journal (starred review)“Jewell’s novel explores the space between going missing and being lost….how th...

  • Watching You synopsis, comments

    Watching You

    Lisa Jewell

    “Quickly and assuredly, Jewell builds an ecosystem of countervailing suspicions…Tricky, clever, unexpected.” New York Times Book Review“Brace yourself as Jewell stacks up the secre...

  • The Family Remains synopsis, comments

    The Family Remains

    Lisa Jewell

    INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER“Other authors are at a ten out of ten, for me, and Lisa is a solid hundred.” Gillian McAllister, The Sunday Times (London) bestselling author of W...

  • The Couple Next Door synopsis, comments

    The Couple Next Door

    Shari Lapena

    Jedes Paar hat seine Geheimnisse. Manche sind tödlich ...Deine Nachbarin möchte nicht, dass du dein Baby zur Dinnerparty mitbringst. Dein Ehemann sagt, das sei schon in Ordnung. Ih...

  • To Marry a Prince synopsis, comments

    To Marry a Prince

    Sophie Page

    One night is about to change Bella's life for ever...Bella Greenwood isn't a fairytale girl. If pushed, she'd probably tell you that her perfect wedding would involve a handful of ...

  • The River at Night synopsis, comments

    The River at Night

    Erica Ferencik

    A “raw, relentless, and heartpoundingly real” (Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author) thriller set against the harsh beauty of the Maine wilderness, The River at Night chart...

  • The Girl on the Train synopsis, comments

    The Girl on the Train

    Paula Hawkins

    The #1 New York Times bestseller, USA Today Book of the Year and now a major motion picture starring Emily Blunt. Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning and night....

  • The Favorite Sister synopsis, comments

    The Favorite Sister

    Jessica Knoll

    From the author of Luckiest Girl Alivenow a Netflix filmcomes the “engrossing” (People) New York Times bestseller starring two sisters who join the cast of a reality TV series…and ...

  • All the Missing Girls synopsis, comments

    All the Missing Girls

    Megan Miranda

    A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A New York Times Book Review “Editors’ Choice” Entertainment Weekly Thriller RoundUp The Wall Street Journal 5 Killer Books Hollywood Reporter Hot S...

  • The Making of Us synopsis, comments

    The Making of Us

    Lisa Jewell

    From the New York Times bestselling author of Then She Was Gone comes a “compelling and heartbreaking” (Jojo Moyes) novel about three strangers who are brought together by the fath...

  • The Night She Disappeared synopsis, comments

    The Night She Disappeared

    Lisa Jewell

    From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Then She Was Gone comes “her best thriller yet” (Harlan Coben, New York Times bestselling author) about a young couple’s disappeara...

  • The Other Passenger synopsis, comments

    The Other Passenger

    Louise Candlish

    One of CrimeReads’s Most Anticipated Crime Books of 2021 Longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier 2021 Crime Novel of the Year The “queen of the suckerpunch twist” (Ruth Ware, #1 ...

  • What Alice Forgot synopsis, comments

    What Alice Forgot

    Liane Moriarty

    FROM THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF BIG LITTLE LIES AND APPLES NEVER FALL A “cheerfully engaging”(Kirkus Reviews) novel for anyone who’s ever asked herself, “How ...

  • Good Girl, Bad Girl synopsis, comments

    Good Girl, Bad Girl

    Michael Robotham

    From the internationally bestselling author who Stephen King calls “an absolute master,” a “gripping and eerie” (Karin Slaughter) thriller about a dangerous young woman with the ab...

  • A Stranger in the House synopsis, comments

    A Stranger in the House

    Shari Lapena

    A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Another thrilling domestic suspense novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door and Not a Happy Family “A Stranger in the ...

  • Into the Water synopsis, comments

    Into the Water

    Paula Hawkins

    #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERGOODREADS CHOICE AWARD WINNER FOR MYSTERY/THRILLERAn addictive novel of psychological suspense from the author of #1 New York Times bestseller and globa...

  • The Darkness Within synopsis, comments

    The Darkness Within

    Lisa Stone

    ‘The Darkness Within hooked me from the start. Once you start you won't be able to stop!’ Katerina Diamond, No.1 bestselling author of The TeacherA gripping new thriller debut that...

  • Everything You Want Me to Be synopsis, comments

    Everything You Want Me to Be

    Mindy Mejia

    Full of twists and turns, Everything You Want Me to Be reconstructs a year in the life of a dangerously mesmerizing young woman, during which a small town’s darkest secrets come to...

  • Day of the Accident synopsis, comments

    Day of the Accident

    Nuala Ellwood

    WHAT DID YOU SEE? WHAT DID YOU DO? 'Gripping, poignant...I read it in one sitting' ROSAMUND LUPTON'Brilliantly compulsive and with one hell of a twist!' CLAIRE DOUGLASSixty seconds...

  • Pretty Revenge synopsis, comments

    Pretty Revenge

    Emily Liebert

    “A riveting tale of subterfuge, betrayal, and retribution set among the glittering world of New York’s elite.” Liv Constantine, bestselling author of The Last Mrs. ParrishThe name ...

  • The Singing Bone synopsis, comments

    The Singing Bone

    Beth Hahn

    A convicted killer’s imminent parole forces a woman to confront the nightmarish past she’s spent twenty years escaping.I found you. That’s what Mr. Wyck told her: I found...

  • The Unforgotten synopsis, comments

    The Unforgotten

    Laura Powell

    “A smart and gripping debut that saves its best for last.” Chris Cleave, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Little Bee “[A] thoroughly satisfying and suspenseful debut…the fin...

  • I Did It for Us synopsis, comments

    I Did It for Us

    Alison Bruce

    'Unpredictable, challenging and compelling' Sophie HannahFrom the first time I saw them together I knew it felt wrong. I didn't like the way he touched her or the selfconscious way...

  • Reputation synopsis, comments

    Reputation

    Sarah Vaughan

    “Astonishingly timely and clever, utterly gripping.” Lucy Foley, #1 New York Times bestselling author “Sarah Vaughan has done it again. Superb.” Shari Lapena, New York Times bestse...

  • Dirty Little Secrets synopsis, comments

    Dirty Little Secrets

    Jo Spain

    'Dark, funny, wellplotted, sinister. Superb' WILL DEANSix neighbours. Six secrets. Six reasons to want Olive Collins dead.In the exclusive gated community of Withered Vale, people'...

  • The Guilty Wife synopsis, comments

    The Guilty Wife

    Elle Croft

    THE TOP 10 EBOOK BESTSELLER 'A gripping tale of betrayal, deceit, and duplicity. Fabulous.' Jenny Blackhurst, author of How I Lost You 'Relentless and intense...I loved the final ...

  • Truth Be Told synopsis, comments

    Truth Be Told

    Kathleen Barber

    Now a major Apple TV+ series starring Octavia Spencer and Aaron Paulproduced by Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine!Serial meets Ruth Ware’s In A Dark, Dark Wood in this inventive a...

  • The Family Upstairs synopsis, comments

    The Family Upstairs

    Lisa Jewell

    INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A GOOD MORNING AMERICA COVER TO COVER BOOK CLUB PICK“Rich, dark, and intricately twisted, this enthralling whodunit mixes family saga with domesti...

  • The Girl from Widow Hills synopsis, comments

    The Girl from Widow Hills

    Megan Miranda

    From the New York Times bestselling author of The Last House Guesta Reese Witherspoon Book Club pickcomes a “hauntingly atmospheric and gorgeously written pageturner” (Kimberly McC...

  • Stalker synopsis, comments

    Stalker

    Lisa Stone

    Someone is always watching… Derek Flint is a loner. He lives with his mother and spends hisevenings watching his clients on the CCTV cameras he has installed inside their home...

  • The Last to Vanish synopsis, comments

    The Last to Vanish

    Megan Miranda

    INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER“This eerie thriller…can stand next to Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House and Stephen King’s The Shining.” Booklist (starred review)New Y...

  • Still Mine synopsis, comments

    Still Mine

    Amy Stuart

    From internationally bestselling author Amy Stuart comes a “dark and deliciously disturbing” (Publishers Weekly) novel about one woman’s search for answers when another woman goes ...

  • Then She Was Gone synopsis, comments

    Then She Was Gone

    Lisa Jewell

    #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERFrom the New York Times bestselling author of Invisible Girl and The Truth About Melody Browne comes a “riveting” (PopSugar) and “acutely observed famil...

  • The Lying Game synopsis, comments

    The Lying Game

    Ruth Ware

    INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, AND LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLER! “So many questions...Until the very last page! Needless to say, I could not put this book down!” Reese Withersp...

  • The Cutaway synopsis, comments

    The Cutaway

    Christina Kovac

    “The Newsroom meets Gone Girl” (Cosmopolitan) in this stunning psychological thriller featuring a young television producer investigating the disappearance of a beautiful Georgetow...

  • Greenwich Park synopsis, comments

    Greenwich Park

    Katherine Faulkner

    This “gloriously tangled game of cat and mouse” (Ruth Ware, #1 New York Times bestselling author) explores the anxieties of impending motherhood, unreliable friendship, and the hig...