My daughter, the one who reads, said she didn't think she could read this book about the Biden family living through the illness and death of son, Beau. That it would be just too sad. I remember telling her that I thought I could handle it.
The book was relatively short. I'd made it nearly two thirds of the way thru the book without doing more than a little tearing up. At one point, Biden is talking about "all the people" (not a direct quote, just the way I remember it) who died in 2014. That did bring a tear to my eye since that was the year that my mother, then my aunt and then my dad all passed away. There were times during the final third of the book where tears were simply streaming down my cheeks.
This book chronicles the diagnosis and death of Beau, some things going on in the world from about 2014 to 2015, and finally, Biden's decision not to seek the Democratic nomination for president in late 2015. I'm sure this book will hold no appeal for anyone who's not a fan of Biden. But I like Joe Biden and this book made him seem even more of a "regular Joe" and more of a multidimensional person to me. It makes me wish I knew Joe Biden personally and was part of his circle.
The death of Biden's son wasn't his first personal tragedy. As a new senator and a young father, his first wife and baby daughter were killed in a car crash, leaving Biden as the single father of two young boys, Beau and Hunter. A few years after the death of his first wife, Biden meets his current wife, Jill. And shortly after they have a baby girl together. For as crazy busy as Biden's life as a politician was, his family was and remained his number one priority. He was a great dad to his sons and his daughter. And he was lucky to find a wonderful women to help him complete his family.
I could have done with less of the details of the diplomatic commitments of Biden in the Ukraine-Russia crisis, Iraq and the Northern Triangle. I feel shallow in saying that those issues don't matter to me. But that's not why I picked up the book. I picked it up to see the humanity that is Joe Biden.
I loved reading about his commitment to family, about the importance of public service in both the lives of Joe and Beau. I enjoyed reading about his growing friendship with Barack Obama and about the difference he made in the lives of other Americans. I was moved by his struggle to make a decision about whether or not to run for President in 2016.
There's a part of the book where he talks about a conversation he has with Andrew Cuomo, son of Mario, who I hadn't realized was still alive at the time my parents' died. My family had a loose connection with Matilda Cuomo and I loved hearing about how based on Mario's life, Andrew Cuomo strove to live his life taking the actions that would lead to the fewest regrets. That's how I choose to live my life. Andrew passed that bit of advice along to Biden who really took it to heart.
To me, this was a book about family relationships. It's about the promise that Beau extracted from his father that Joe Biden would "be all right." This is a book about the great love and admiration between father and sons, brothers, and friends. This was a book about dealing with the ugliness of cancer. This was a book about compassion and grace. It was also about finding comfort and the strength to move forward. At a pace that is right for you.
I wonder if Biden wrote the book as a clear explanation of why he didn't run for president. Perhaps. And I certainly respect his reasons. I believe he's fulfilling his promise to Beau.
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