Leaving South Dakota is the tale of Beryl Radin and her experience growing up as a first generation Jewish American in the Midwest. From her small Jewish community of Aberdeen, South Dakota, to her career as a successful academic and professor in and out of Washington, DC, Radin weaves together the threads of a life of feminism, civill rights, Americanization, and activism. Spanning eight decades, Radin's memoir offers a vision of the twentieth century through the lens of a woman defined by multiple identities attempting to define her place in a shifting world.