Welcome to Litsy!

This book is a collection of essays published online from about 2011-2014 on topical issues, from the treatment of the most vulnerable to the state of academia. They are through the lens of a writer based in St Louis rather than one of the coasts. Because of the structure, there‘s a fair amount of repetition, but it‘s interesting to see where we were then and how things now are somehow so much worse.

Wasnt planning for the tagged to most likely be my Christmas week read but when your library hold comes in, you gotta answer the call 🤷🏻‍♀️

I wondered through this book if I‘d have the same empathy reaction to her book if I hadn‘t supported her in the beginning. It‘s not entirely a platform defining book, but an explanation of the gigantic lift it took to run a presidential campaign for 107 days. It humanized Harris- both her strengths and her flaws. It‘s a book to read and discuss, beyond her politics, but just the whole election that was so chaotic.

It took me all month to read this just because I knew the ending, and it‘s so easy to judge in hindsight. I‘m glad I persevered though because the afterword was excellent. #NonfictionNovember

Starting the day that President Joe Biden announces he is not running for a second term, VP Kamala Harris takes the reader through probably the most historic presidential campaigns in history.
I listened to it during a particularly rough patch with the current administration so it was a bit like pouring salt in the wound, but it was interesting to learn what it took for Harris & her team to take a campaign from 0 to 100 in no time.

Listening to this audiobook was a bit like poking at a wound that hasn‘t fully healed yet but it was still an interesting look behind the scenes from Kamala‘s perspective. I am still mourning for what could have been but I am glad I was persuaded to give this a try.

Two quotes from my reading this morning:

From Kamala‘s mother
“Kamala, don‘t ever let anyone tell you who you are. You tell them who you are.”

From Angela Merkel

“Don‘t you ever let them make you cry.”

#TodayILearned #NFN

It was so nice to listen to Kamala again.

I enjoyed this one. Having the details of how everything transpired daily made for a great read. #NFN

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z19lHTlKfOk

I doubt I'll read the book, but her conversation with Jon Stewart is wonderful. He is perhaps the most generous interviewer, as you can see throughout their conversation that he leads her from seemingly rehearsed to relaxed and honest, even more so than she has proven to be, and he give serious consideration to her questions back. He even gets her cursing over the Drumpf “ballroom“ 😅 ⬇