Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose

· Sold by Flatiron Books
4.2
48 reviews
Ebook
272
Pages
Eligible

About this ebook

The Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller

From President Joe Biden, Promise Me Dad is his deeply moving memoir about the year that would forever change both a family and a country.

“Biden splices a heartbreaking story with an election story and a foreign affairs story. And in so doing, he offers something for everyone, no matter which strand draws you in.”—The New York Times Book Review

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. As 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 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.

Ratings and reviews

4.2
48 reviews
KC C
December 20, 2020
One star because I have to, if I could give it a zero I would. Biden is a criminal, a pedo but not a good writer or person
2 people found this review helpful
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Marco Maldonado
January 12, 2018
Some chapters make you choke a bit, but I loved the book because it's such a personal account of events that we forget politicians are people just like the rest of us, that suffer and experiment things just like we do, if not more, because they always have to come out smiling and putting on their A-game non-stop. Thank you Joe Biden for such an amazing book and for sharing your personal story of happiness, success, teamwork, and grief; bust most of all for showing us that home base is the center of it all, and always staying true to ourselves. Amazing book!! Two thumbs us, I recommend this book because it's full of encouraging (and also sad) events that help us realize we can overcome even the most of difficult tasks with the support of family and friends, home base. ALWAYS.
13 people found this review helpful
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Lavonne Purnell
December 14, 2017
Love him as a person,love him as vice President, love him as a author good reading getting to know the man..💜💜💜💜💜
12 people found this review helpful
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About the author

Joe Biden is the 46th President of the United States. Before taking office, he represented Delaware for 36 years in the U.S. Senate and from 2009-2017 served as the 47th Vice President of the United States. As Vice President Biden fought to raise the living standards of middle class Americans, reduce gun violence, address violence against women, and end cancer as we know it. He has worked to expand opportunity for all with the creation of the Biden Foundation, the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Biden Domestic Policy Institute at the University of Delaware. He is the author of Promises to Keep: On Life and Politics and Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose.

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