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A review by adelita18
Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose by Joe Biden
5.0
I received this book as a birthday gift from my husband and wow, is it a beautifully written and powerful memoir. I read this on the heels of John McCain’s “Restless Wave”. Looking back on those book choices, I believe reading the two close together helped me appreciate the struggles of these two political giants in relationship to the devastating battle they faced with glioblastoma. Biden’s book is a tough emotional read at times, and should probably be approached with some Kleenex and time to sit and reflect before picking it back up again.
I appreciate the former Vice President’s openness about his personal life as someone who strikes me as being private and protective of his family. He takes time to look back on the loss of his wife and daughter and the impact that had on the relationship with his sons. He delves into his marriage with Jill and the expansion of the family with Ashley, then his kids’ spouses, and grandchildren. Biden overlaps his responsibilities, experiences, and time as Vice President with Beau’s diagnosis, fight with, and ultimate death from glioblastoma. He also spends quite a bit of the book talking about the challenges coordinating healthcare, particularly with regard to the sharing of records, for oncology patients. I truly appreciated his voice and advocacy in this realm as someone who formerly worked in oncology clinical research; there are so many ways systems can be created or enhanced to improve the quality of care and outcomes for patients as delays can be deadly in aggressive cancers. Despite not owing anyone any explanations regarding his decision not to seek the presidency in the 2016 election, he provided it anyways.
There are quite a few moments of levity that made me smile and laugh. I loved his stories of his granddaughters having “spheres of influence” and using his time as Vice President to help enhance his grandchildren’s’ understanding of the world. Biden is very much a family man who clearly loves his roles as husband, father, and grandfather.
Regardless of political affiliation, I think this book is beautifully written and can help everyone appreciate the life and sacrifice of Beau Biden and the Biden family as political families. Their struggles battling cancer are relatable to any family who has lost a love one to that family of disease. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a memoir or who wants to understand the Bidens as a family during their time in the Obama Administration.
I appreciate the former Vice President’s openness about his personal life as someone who strikes me as being private and protective of his family. He takes time to look back on the loss of his wife and daughter and the impact that had on the relationship with his sons. He delves into his marriage with Jill and the expansion of the family with Ashley, then his kids’ spouses, and grandchildren. Biden overlaps his responsibilities, experiences, and time as Vice President with Beau’s diagnosis, fight with, and ultimate death from glioblastoma. He also spends quite a bit of the book talking about the challenges coordinating healthcare, particularly with regard to the sharing of records, for oncology patients. I truly appreciated his voice and advocacy in this realm as someone who formerly worked in oncology clinical research; there are so many ways systems can be created or enhanced to improve the quality of care and outcomes for patients as delays can be deadly in aggressive cancers. Despite not owing anyone any explanations regarding his decision not to seek the presidency in the 2016 election, he provided it anyways.
There are quite a few moments of levity that made me smile and laugh. I loved his stories of his granddaughters having “spheres of influence” and using his time as Vice President to help enhance his grandchildren’s’ understanding of the world. Biden is very much a family man who clearly loves his roles as husband, father, and grandfather.
Regardless of political affiliation, I think this book is beautifully written and can help everyone appreciate the life and sacrifice of Beau Biden and the Biden family as political families. Their struggles battling cancer are relatable to any family who has lost a love one to that family of disease. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a memoir or who wants to understand the Bidens as a family during their time in the Obama Administration.