Biden, Joe "Promise Me, Dad"

Biden, Joe "Promise Me, Dad. A year of hope, hardship, and purpose" - 2017

Joe Biden is an amazing man. First, he brought up two children after the loss of their mother and little sister and found the strength to enter political life, not in order to be admired but truly to serve others. That surely tells you everything. Then he enters one of the most powerful and stressful jobs and has to see how his son slowly but surely loses his life. And he still stays strong and does his duty. What a guy! I am not surprised one of the greatest presidents ever chose him as his vice.

As in Michelle Obama's book "Becoming", we follow the relationship between the Biden and Obama family and see what a special kind of bond there is between them. They are both decent families who love their children and want them to grow up in a better society.

Beau Biden's illness was described in such a sensitive way, his father admired him for all he did and how strong he stayed by going through such an ordeal. It was sad and heartbreaking but it was also possible to see the strength it gave them, how it welded them together, how they all learned from each other. Such a wonderful family, such a wonderful man.

What a shame he gave up running for president. He would have been a great incumbent!

Looking forward to more books by Joe Biden, maybe another one about his relationship with Barack Obama?

From the back cover:

"A deeply moving memoir about the year that would forever change both a family and a country.

In November 2014, thirteen members of the Biden family gathered on Nantucket for Thanksgiving, a tradition they had been celebrating for the past forty years; it was the one constant in what had become a hectic, scrutinized, and overscheduled life. The Thanksgiving holiday was a much-needed respite, a time to connect, a time to reflect on what the year had brought, and what the future might hold. But this year felt different from all those that had come before. Joe and Jill Biden's eldest son, Beau, had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor fifteen months earlier, and his survival was uncertain. 'Promise me, Dad,' Beau had told his father. 'Give me your word that no matter what happens, you're going to be all right.' Joe Biden gave him his word.

Promise Me, Dad chronicles the year that followed, which would be the most momentous and challenging in Joe Biden's extraordinary life and career. Vice President Biden traveled more than a hundred thousand miles that year, across the world, dealing with crises in Ukraine, Central America, and Iraq. When a call came from New York, or Capitol Hill, or Kyiv, or Baghdad -- Joe, I need your help -- he responded. For twelve months, while Beau fought for and then lost his life, the vice president balanced the twin imperatives of living up to his responsibilities to his country and his responsibilities to his family. And never far away was the insistent and urgent question of whether he should seek the presidency in 2016.

The year brought real triumph and accomplishment, and wrenching pain. But even in the worst times, Biden was able to lean on the strength of his long, deep bonds with his family, on his faith, and on his deepening friendship with the man in the Oval Office, Barack Obama.

Writing with poignancy and immediacy, Joe Biden allows readers to feel the urgency of each moment, to experience the days when he felt unable to move forward as well as the days when he felt like he could not afford to stop.

This is a book written not just by the vice president, but by a father, grandfather, friend, and husband. Promise Me, Dad is a story of how family and friendships sustain us and how hope, purpose, and action can guide us through the pain of personal loss into the light of a new future."