In her latest memoir, Clinton takes on student protests, foreign policy and even clown school.
In four previous memoirs — “Living History,” “It Takes a Village,” “Hard Choices” and “What Happened” — Hillary Rodham Clinton has spoken at length about her political career, idealism, policy positions and, occasionally, her closely guarded private life.
Does she have more to say? The cover of SOMETHING LOST, SOMETHING GAINED (Simon & Schuster, 324 pp., $29.99), which shows a softer, more approachable figure than the one familiar from the campaign trail or the situation room, hints at personal revelations. And while there are some, the book — dedicated to her grandchildren “with love and hope for the future you and your generation deserve” — it is mostly an affectionate ode to the women in her life.
These portraits are interspersed with thoughtful reactions to the political events that have taken place since “What Happened” (a point-by-point litigation of Clinton’s electoral loss to Donald Trump), forensic analyses of foreign policy situations in Ukraine and Gaza and warnings about the danger posed by another Trump term.
As “long as he remains within striking distance of the White House, the dominant emotion I feel is dread — plus determination to do all I can to stop him,” she writes.
Here are eight takeaways from the book.
She did not revel in schadenfreude (much) after Trump was convicted of 34 felonies
“I closed the breaking news alert and exchanged a few funny tweets and memes with friends over text. … That evening I had to appear at an event for women’s rights. I started my remarks by asking, ‘Anything going on today?’”
The first ladies are not mean girls
In a chapter titled “This Remarkable Sisterhood,” Clinton describes the mini-reunion of first ladies that took place at Rosalynn Carter’s 2023 Atlanta memorial. The Clintons, Obamas and Bidens flew down together on Air Force One. When they arrived, they greeted Laura Bush, who “was, as always, a picture of polish and warmth.”
Share
Print
