Promise Me, Dad ~ Joe Biden

Photo Rights: Hitha On The Go

In November 2014, thirteen members of the Biden family gathered on Nantucket for Thanksgiving, a tradition they had been celebrating for the past forty years; it was the one constant in what had become a hectic, scrutinized, and overscheduled life. The Thanksgiving holiday was a much-needed respite, a time to connect, a time to reflect on what the year had brought, and what the future might hold. But this year felt different from all those that had come before. Joe and Jill Biden's eldest son, Beau, had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor fifteen months earlier, and his survival was uncertain. "Promise me, Dad," Beau had told his father. "Give me your word that no matter what happens, you’re going to be all right." Joe Biden gave him his word.

Promise Me, Dad chronicles the year that followed, which would be the most momentous and challenging in Joe Biden’s extraordinary life and career. Vice President Biden traveled more than a hundred thousand miles that year, across the world, dealing with crises in Ukraine, Central America, and Iraq. When a call came from New York, or Capitol Hill, or Kyiv, or Baghdad—“Joe, I need your help”—he responded. For twelve months, while Beau fought for and then lost his life, the vice president balanced the twin imperatives of living up to his responsibilities to his country and his responsibilities to his family. And never far away was the insistent and urgent question of whether he should seek the presidency in 2016.

The year brought real triumph and accomplishment, and wrenching pain. But even in the worst times, Biden was able to lean on the strength of his long, deep bonds with his family, on his faith, and on his deepening friendship with the man in the Oval Office, Barack Obama.

Writing with poignancy and immediacy, Joe Biden allows readers to feel the urgency of each moment, to experience the days when he felt unable to move forward as well as the days when he felt like he could not afford to stop.

This is a book written not just by the vice president, but by a father, grandfather, friend, and husband. Promise Me, Dad is a story of how family and friendships sustain us and how hope, purpose, and action can guide us through the pain of personal loss into the light of a new future.

Book Review:

I have been loving listening to audiobooks over the past couple of years. I go through different phases. Sometimes, they are all I want to listen to. I basically ignore music, podcasts, everything. However, the current phase that I am going through has been listening to memoirs by politicians. As you know, I listened to Hillary Clinton's newest memoir not that long ago, I have a review up on the blog for that as well. Therefore, when Joe Biden's newest one was on my recommendations page on audible, I decided to listen to it right away. 

If you want a memoir that is outlining Biden's political ideology and giving lots of details about why he made the political decisions that he did, and so on... this is not the book for you. Obviously, his political ideology comes up, but it is not the main focus of this memoir.  This story chronicles the year his son Beau dies from a rare brain cancer. This was the same year that Biden had to make a decision to or not to run for President 2016. Not only was he still doing his job as Vice President, dealing with the issues in the Ukraine and Iraq, etc; but he was also watching his son die, his grandchildren witness their father's demise, his children be the rocks for his son, and dealing with his own feelings because of that situation.

The story is heart-wrenching and inspiring at the same time. This man remained dedicated to his family but also even more committed to his country throughout the worst time of his life. He compartmentalized in the most extraordinary way possible. It's a talent, a necessary component of the life he leads, but a talent nonetheless. Needless to say, he inspired me. He made me believe in him as a person and as a politician in a way that I have never believed in another public figure before. He promised his son that he would be okay and although he will never be the same man he was when Beau was alive, he will be okay, possibly even better. 

Towards the end of the book, we learn why he chose not to run for President. We all knew some of the story from his announcement to not run, but he words it here in a way that he couldn't have at the time. He knew that he was unable to give his undivided attention to being President and all of the tasks that would come with that, he was still grieving. Although he remained a dedicated Vice President throughout the tragedy, he knew that he was unable to be President at this time. He gives me hope as he says these things, however. I believe that he will do amazing things for our country, as President one day or not. He still believes that our country has hope and that as a people we can do all of the things we need to in order to change the world. If he chooses to run for President in 2020, he has my vote. 

Favorite Quote:

"If the problem is fear than the answer is knowledge."