Book: Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose
Author: Joe Biden
Review by: Martin Richenhagen, Chairman, President & CEO, AGCO Corporation
Promise Me, Dad – A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose is a deeply moving memoir that chronicles the year after Joe Biden’s son Beau was diagnosed with a brain tumor. It is written by former Vice President Joe Biden and allows readers to experience one of the most challenging and toughest years in his extraordinary life and career. He served for 36 years in the U.S. Senate before becoming the 47th Vice President of the United States from 2009-17.
Beau Biden passed away in May 2015. When he was first diagnosed, he made his father promise “to be all right – no matter what would happen.” The book builds on that premise by telling how Biden tries to balance his political life with his personal life in the twelve months following the diagnosis. The memoir is about hope, strength, faith and love. It’s about personal loss, grief, resilience and purpose.
Joe Biden narrates his story in a fascinating and authentic way. He intertwines his personal story with his political path. He brings both together and embeds one into another. The reader will get some interesting political insights as to how close the former vice president got to running for presidency in 2016, about his friendship with former President Obama, and how he was dealing with domestic and foreign crises while worrying about his son. The book tells us about how he tried to balance between the responsibility towards his son and his family and the responsibility towards serving the United States and its people.
It is a heartfelt story about an authentic life-long politician and I highly recommend it.
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