For my next blog entry, I read Where the Light Enters: Building a Family, Discovering Myself, by First Lady Jill Biden.
While not a political memoir, like most autobiographies,
it’s an honest look at life’s triumphs, tragedies and adjustments that we all
must face. As a wife of a politician, Dr. Biden has had her share of all three.
It was published in 2019. So, the 2020 election and beyond is not covered.
Much of this book is about meeting and marrying the future
president and their lives together, but also Dr. Biden discusses her years as
an educator. She talks about teaching students who were disenfranchised because
they received a segregated education. She also taught English and History in a
psychiatric hospital. When she became Second Lady, she took a position as a professor
at a Virginia community college. She tells how her Secret Service detail would disguise
themselves as students to blend in with the college atmosphere.
There were many compelling stories throughout this
memoir, including ones about Dr. Biden’s work with military families and the
death of her son Beau, but the chapter on her teaching career, I found to be especially
enlightening and was one of my favorite parts of the book.
Another memorable story is when Dr. Biden as Second Lady
visited The Congo with her granddaughter in 2014. She met with a doctor who had
a hospital that treated females who were victims of horrific violence
by tribal soldiers. Instead of despair,
this hospital was a place of safety, strength and courage. The lesson learned
there was that you have to look at humanity worst evils to experience the
heights of our compassion, hope and love, as Dr. Biden writes.
I was also moved by how the Bidens kept the memory of
their sons’ biological mother alive and how they maintained a wonderful relationship
with her family.
Additionally, reading about Senator Biden being
nominated for Vice President in 2008 and eventually winning that election was
pretty interesting too.
Would I recommend Where the Light Enters? I'm
neutral on this matter. Sure, there were a number of moments of inspiration
throughout the book, but a lot of it was just details of the Bidens’ family
life – maybe a little too much for my taste. If you’re the type of person who
likes to read about political families, then this book could be for you.
Where the Light Enters was
recommended by a good friend of mine. I thank her for the suggestion. If you
have any suggestions or feedback for this blog, please e-mail them to mariabookbanter@gmail.com.
