Former First Lady Jill Biden’s new memoir offers unvarnished insights into her husband’s health crisis, family struggles, and political battles.
Former First Lady Jill Biden is opening up about the private struggles that defined her time in the White House. In her new book, she discusses her husband’s health crisis, family dynamics, and the political climate.
The book releases on Tuesday, picking up from the authenticity of a 2020 roundtable where she discussed mental health. She notes that her “full-blown confession” of her family’s suffering went unmentioned by the press. The 266-page memoir offers a largely unvarnished take on her husband’s presidency and his political opponents. Biden makes it clear she is done repressing her views six years later.
The memoir begins with the stage IV prostate cancer diagnosis that shocked the family months after they left the White House. However, Jill Biden reveals she had long suspected something was wrong. She notes that in the year before leaving the White House, Joe began waking up repeatedly at night. She writes that she knew this symptom was common in men his age but was still worried.
She recounts alerting his doctor, stating, “Joe was up seven times last night. … I’m worried about him.” When symptoms worsened after leaving the White House, she encouraged her husband to see a Philadelphia urologist, who ultimately gave the diagnosis. She acknowledges questions about how a president protected “in bubble wrap” did not have his advanced cancer detected earlier. She writes that she was “stunned” by the diagnosis.
Her attention quickly turned to supporting her husband through hormone therapy. She notes this treatment caused side effects including “fatigue and moodiness.” Regarding his age, the former first lady says she believed Joe Biden was “definitely aging” in office but “very much up to the job.” This section of the Joe Biden prostate cancer narrative highlights the private anxiety the couple faced during the final months of their administration.
Biden describes herself as an introverted spouse to a very extroverted husband. While she paints a deeply trusting relationship, there are still some things the Bidens don’t talk about. She writes that they maintained a “veil of discretion around personal health.” For example, when she went through menopause, she never spoke about it with him, even though she experienced two years of horrible insomnia.
On policy issues, she encouraged her husband to “widen his circle of advisers.” She also reflects on the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, which she calls a “turning point for Joe’s administration.” When they met with families of the 13 US service members killed at the Kabul airport, she says it was “the first time we went into a group of military families and were met not as friends but, by some, as enemies.”
The narrative also covers the difficult period of Hunter Biden addiction and legal troubles. Jill Biden expresses regret for not discussing Hunter’s addiction with the family sooner. She says she was raised to stay stoic and believed Hunter would get it together on his own. She notes that many people knew how dire the situation was, but no one said anything, and she didn’t ask. Even now, she can barely say the words “My son was a drug addict.”
Regarding Hunter’s conviction on felony gun charges, she questions the politics of being part of the first family. She writes that Joe “might have gone too far” to show impartiality. She later writes that her husband “made the call” to pardon Hunter Biden, despite protest from some advisers. She supported that decision.
President Donald Trump looms large in the book, whom she names as “Donald” just once. Otherwise, she refers to him as “Joe’s opponent” or “the incoming president.” His effectiveness in undoing her husband’s policies is a continued source of despair for the Biden family. She describes him as “some kind of avenging spirit” as he prepared to return to office.
Biden criticizes Trump’s decision to demolish the East Wing to make way for a ballroom. She writes, “A major landmark and historic treasure was being treated like an extreme fixer-upper on HGTV’s Property Brothers.” She also hints that she left a hidden message for the Trumps on the White House residence window on Inauguration Day, though she declined to share what it said.
Her relationship with former Vice President Kamala Harris is described as complicated. It started with “hypocritical point-scoring” during a 2019 Democratic debate. Although Biden calls Harris the “clear” choice for running mate, she seems stung by Harris pressing for an endorsement. However, she adds that Doug Emhoff was “a real person, a gift that at times in Washington can feel like a life raft.”
Biden muses on the constraints of her role. She writes, “Being first lady could feel like a catch-22.” She explains that first ladies are encouraged to use their platform to do good but not be too aggressive in pursuing policy goals, lest they be seen as overreaching. She reflects on being a partner to a president, which includes sitting with people having the worst day of their life.
She also discusses the CNN debate in June 2024, admitting she doesn’t know what happened during her husband’s performance. She questions her strategy of staying positive afterward, wondering if they failed to acknowledge that he looked unwell. She concedes that the campaign did not offer sufficient explanations to make questions about his health go away.
Ultimately, the book shows a former first lady learning to accept and show her feelings. She writes that she used to think holding herself together was the healthier path but is “not so sure” anymore.
The memoir provides a candid look at the personal and political toll of the Biden presidency. By addressing health crises and family struggles, Jill Biden seeks to humanize the former first family. Her critiques of the Trump administration suggest ongoing political friction. The book may influence public perception of the Bidens as they navigate life post-White House. Her reflections on mental health and family dynamics could spark broader conversations about the pressures of political life. This transparency marks a significant shift from the discretion often maintained by first families.
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