The first glimpse of what is arguably the year’s most anticipated political memoir was released Sunday.
To commemorate Mother’s Day, Vogue published excerpts from Hillary Clinton’s forthcoming “Hard Choices,” in which the former secretary of state and first lady pays tribute to her late mother.
Clinton details her mother’s challenging upbringing. Dorothy Howell Rodham’s parents divorced when she was young, and she was sent to live with her “severe and unloving” grandparents in California, Clinton writes.
“When I got old enough to understand all this, I asked my mother how she survived abuse and abandonment without becoming embittered and emotionally stunted. How did she emerge from this lonely early life as such a loving and levelheaded woman? I’ll never forget how she replied. ‘At critical points in my life somebody showed me kindness,’ she said.”
Clinton goes on to recount an emotional scene at the memorial service for her mother, who died in November 2011.
“I looked at Chelsea and thought about how proud Mom was of her. Mom measured her own life by how much she was able to help us and serve others. I knew if she was still with us, she would be urging us to do the same. Never rest on your laurels. Never quit. Never stop working to make the world a better place. That’s our unfinished business.”
Clinton’s book, which focuses on her time at the State Department, is set to be released on June 10. The book is certain to be scrutinized, as speculation continues to build over another potential Clinton White House bid.
Clinton has kept relatively mum about her political ambitions, but she offered the most concrete hint of her plans last month when she said she is “obviously thinking about it.”
But, she added, she’s plans to “continue thinking about it for a while.”