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A review by emfass
Who Thought This Was a Good Idea?: And Other Questions You Should Have Answers to When You Work in the White House by Alyssa Mastromonaco
adventurous
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
3.25
Really interesting to hear all the stories of the nitty gritty of running a campaign and working as a political staffer and in the White House. I listened to the audiobook, and it was great to hear Mastromonaco's story in her own voice. I appreciate her vulnerability and truth-telling about the highs and the lows, and especially about being one of the only women amidst some of the most powerful people in the world.
I did spend much of the book wishing someone would get this woman a nap, a square meal, and a vacation - it was hard to read about how she was run ragged for so long. But I guess that is the reality of working in politics, and probably especially as a woman.
A few things I struggled with:
-SO MUCH JUMPING AROUND OF TIMELINE. It made it really, really hard to keep things straight. And also we really weaved in and out of personal stories vs. political-event-related stories. I realize this is how life happens, but there was something about the structure (or lack thereof) that made for very jumbled reading.
-The stories she shared with us about her husband David (whom she alternates calling DK without context, which also made things confusing) all painted her in a rough light - I didn't really understand what she likes about him, and wish there had been some balance to show good times in their relationship. She mostly shared stories of times when things were stressful and she was not acting very kindly towards him.
-I was rather put-off by the section where she went meta and describes the difficulties in writing this book? I was interested at first but then it felt like it went on for a loooong time.
-The many, many casual drop-ins of using alcohol to cope with stress and anxiety, and never addressing this as a potential problem. Eep.
I did spend much of the book wishing someone would get this woman a nap, a square meal, and a vacation - it was hard to read about how she was run ragged for so long. But I guess that is the reality of working in politics, and probably especially as a woman.
A few things I struggled with:
-SO MUCH JUMPING AROUND OF TIMELINE. It made it really, really hard to keep things straight. And also we really weaved in and out of personal stories vs. political-event-related stories. I realize this is how life happens, but there was something about the structure (or lack thereof) that made for very jumbled reading.
-The stories she shared with us about her husband David (whom she alternates calling DK without context, which also made things confusing) all painted her in a rough light - I didn't really understand what she likes about him, and wish there had been some balance to show good times in their relationship. She mostly shared stories of times when things were stressful and she was not acting very kindly towards him.
-I was rather put-off by the section where she went meta and describes the difficulties in writing this book? I was interested at first but then it felt like it went on for a loooong time.
-The many, many casual drop-ins of using alcohol to cope with stress and anxiety, and never addressing this as a potential problem. Eep.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Alcoholism, Infertility, Sexism, and Excrement
Alyssa's pet cat has health struggles and passes away at the end of the book; she discusses getting tested and finding out she has low egg count (or something similar); she discusses her IBD; she frequently mentions drinking wine or other alcohol to cope with stress and anxiety without addressing it as potentially problematic.