The Promised Land by Barak Obama

I was at work when the insurrection began on Wednesday, far from a TV or radio. But I knew something was wrong because the Apple watch my husband gave me for my birthday was buzzing like a bee with breaking news updates. When I finally got home and saw the alarming images of thugs storming the Capitol, I could not believe my eyes. It was ironic because the day before I had finished listening to this memoir, “A Promised Land” by Barak Obama. It felt blissfully nostalgic to look back on a time when  we had a different man in the White House, and a nod to the fact that we will soon have a different man and a woman in the White House, too. Like Michelle Obama’s memoir “Becoming,” this book focuses on the early years of their marriage, the campaign trail and his first term in office.  According to the “New York Times,” nearly every president since Theodore Roosevelt has written a memoir. This one provides a look at the presidency that is both honest, intimate and groundbreaking. When he won the election of 2008 in the middle of an economic crisis, one of his friends said to Obama, “Two hundred and thirty-two years, and they wait until the country’s falling apart before they turn it over to the brother!” He lets us follow him around the White House which begins with breakfast and the delivery of the “President’s Daily Brief,” which Michelle called “The Death, Destruction and Horrible Things Book.” The stress of the job, the responsibility to a nation, is something that motivates and inspires him to find answers whether the questions are about health care, an oil spill, the economy or the hunt for Osama Bin Laden. There is just one word I kept thinking about while I was listening to him read this book, and that word is dignity. The state of being worthy of honor and respect is what Obama personified during his eight years in office, and it was sorely missed this week. Let’s hope Joe Biden is ready for the challenge, and follows in Obama’s graceful footsteps. To buy this book on Amazon click here.