The latest must-read memoirs from women in the American political sphere

Women are climbing the ranks in American politics, from state positions to national offices – and in the case of Kamala Harriswhile holding the second highest office as vice president campaigning for the American presidency. But even as women enter the mainstream at all levels, the political climate has become increasingly polarized and public discourse about power, policy and representation increasingly revolves around gender issues. As a result, many high-profile women in politics have been inspired in recent years to share their stories in print, sparking interest in books that highlight resilience in leadership, especially from women who have overcome systemic barriers to become influential acquire positions.

There has recently been a new harvest biographies and memoirs by leaders like the Supreme Court justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi have not only raised the curtain on powerful women’s political perspectives and decision-making processes, but also on their personal lives. The six newly published memoirs we have published here highlight these leaders’ unique contributions to governance and American culture while providing an insider’s view of pivotal national events. They are not always easy to read, but they are all worth reading.

The Art of Power: My Story as America’s First Female Speaker of the House of Representatives by Nancy Pelosi

Nothing could have prepared 84-year-old Nancy Pelosi for the 2022 attack on her husband Paul at their San Francisco home. She opens the door her second book– her first, Know Your Power: A Message to America’s Daughterswas published in 2008 – telling the story of this traumatic incident that shook her family’s sense of security. She writes that Paul, who still can’t talk about it, bears the scars of that night, both emotionally and physically. Pelosi’s commitment to and fight for democracy began at a time when few women held political office. Since then, she has been re-elected to the House of Representatives eighteen times and served as the first female Speaker of the House from 2007 to 2011 and again from 2019 to 2023. Throughout her career, she has consistently prioritized and chronicled children and their futures. as the cornerstone of her platform and the guiding lens for her political decisions, a theme she explores in more depth in her latest book.

Something lost, something gained: reflections on life, love and freedom by Hillary Rodham Clinton

In her latest bookformer First Lady and US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton took her editor’s advice to heart: write as if she were talking to guests at a dinner party, mixing political and personal stories. Each chapter reads like an essay and offers deep insights into her life outside politics, including her close friendship with Canadian mystery writer Louise Penny, her admiration for Joni Mitchell, and the loyalty of her school friends. Yet Clinton also writes about her efforts to keep Afghan women safe and describes the routine she and her husband, Bill, maintain of checking in with each other at the end of the day, no matter where they are in the world. And she certainly doesn’t shy away from explaining her 2016 presidential election loss to Donald Trump, or addressing his persistent claims that the 2020 election was stolen. “Every day I do my best to keep my eyes on the future,” she says.

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Melania: A Memoir by Melania Trump

With just days to go until the upcoming presidential election, former First Lady Trump has largely remained out of the public eye. True to form, those who hope her book that will offer insights into her politics may be disappointed—this short book reveals little about her personal politics, beyond her support for abortion rights and her opposition to the violence of the January 6 Capitol riots. In this straightforward memoir, she reflects on her Slovenian upbringing, life in the spotlight, her relationship with Donald, her fashion career, the joy of motherhood and her lobbying work. She also discusses her entrepreneurial ventures, such as her jewelry line and skin care brand, and the pride she took in building her own career apart from her husband, even when her projects faced setbacks. The publisher has invoiced Melania Trump‘s memoir as “an in-depth account of a woman who lived a remarkable life on her own terms,” ​​and in that respect it certainly delivers.

Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning by Liz Cheney

Cheney’s sharply focused book details her decision to become one of only ten Republicans (and the third highest-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives) to vote for Trump’s impeachment after the January 6, 2021 insurrection. This action led until her resignation as chairman of the Republican Party. Republican Conference in the House of Representatives. Her appointment by Speaker Pelosi to the special committee to investigate the January 6 attack on the Capitol gave her an immediate opportunity to share her story. The bookThe title refers to the oath that every elected official, including the president, swears, pledging allegiance to the Constitution over party loyalty. Cheney clarifies the “warning” in her subtitle on the last page of the prologue: “We cannot make the grave mistake of sending Donald Trump – the man who caused January 6 – back to the White House, or to any position of public to trust. ever again.”

Beautiful: a memoir by Ketanji Brown Jackson

When President Biden appointed Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court in 2022, it marked a historic milestone: She became the first Black woman to serve on the United States’ highest court. Jackson opens her memoirs with that pivotal scene describing the moment she is led into the room to take her oath, before segueing into the story of her parents and grandparents’ struggles with segregation. Her childhood in Miami is marked by hope and more opportunity than her ancestors knew, as her parents work tirelessly to support her success. But Ketanji is already a smart, curious and reflective child; qualities that will take her through Harvard, to motherhood and marriage, and eventually to the Supreme Court. Her name, translated by her aunt, a Peace Corps volunteer in West Africa, means “beautiful one,” which inspired the memoir’s title.

The Joy of Politics: Surviving Cancer, a Campaign, a Pandemic, an Uprising, and Life’s Other Unexpected Curveballs by Amy Klobuchar

Minnesota-born U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar rose to national prominence as the Democratic nominee in the 2020 presidential race. Her journey since then has been a whirlwind both publicly and personally: She stood next to former Vice President Mike Pence on the night of January 6 as he certified President Biden’s victory to amid the uprising, and in her personal life she faced the loss of her father from Alzheimer’s disease, her husband’s hospitalization and oxygen support due to COVID-19, and her own cancer diagnosis. Klobuchar’s humor and grounded personality shine through her fourth bookbeginning with a light-hearted moment in the opening paragraph in which her husband jokes about his “long-distance symptom”—his desire to avoid having to clean the basement again—showing her resilience and strength.