Where the Light Enters: Building a Family, Discovering Myself

by Jill Biden

Overview

An intimate look at the love that built the Biden family and the delicate balancing act of the woman at its center

"How did you get this number?" Those were the first words Jill Biden spoke to U.S. senator Joe Biden when he called her out of the blue to ask her on a date.

Growing up, Jill had wanted two things: a marriage like her parents'—strong, loving, and full of laughter—and a career. An early heartbreak had left her uncertain about love, until she met Joe. But as they grew closer, Jill faced difficult questions: How would politics shape her family and professional life? And was she ready to become a mother to Joe's two young sons?

She soon found herself falling in love with her three "boys," learning to balance life as a mother, wife, educator, and political spouse. Through the challenges of public scrutiny, complicated family dynamics, and personal losses, she grew alongside her family, and she extended the family circle at every turn: with her students, military families, friends and staff at the White House, and more.

This is the story of how Jill built a family—and a life—of her own. From the pranks she played to keep everyone laughing to the traditions she formed that would carry them through tragedy, hers is the spirited journey of a woman embracing many roles.

Where the Light Enters is a candid, heartwarming glimpse into the creation of a beloved American family, and the life of a woman at its center.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250182333
Publisher:	Flatiron Books
Publication date:	05/07/2019
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	424,967
File size:	7 MB

About the Author

Dr. Jill Biden is an American educator and the First Lady of the United States. From 2009 to 2017 she served as Second Lady of the United States, during which tenure she advocated for military families, community colleges, the fight against cancer, and the education of women and girls around the world. She has continued this work through the Biden Foundation, the Biden Cancer Initiative, and the Beau Biden Foundation for the Protection of Children. Dr. Biden is married to Vice President Joe Biden.

Table of Contents

Prologue 9

1 Family Ties 15

2 Pushing Boundaries 35

3 Childhood's End 50

4 A Real Gentleman 67

5 If You Have to Ask 74

6 Five Proposals 88

7 We Don't Say "Step" 104

8 This Is Your Baby 120

9 Discovering My Voice 141

10 Becoming a Daughter 168

11 Small Wonders 188

12 Decisions Together 206

13 The Table Grows 224

14 From Friends to Family 239

15 Shattered 258

Epilogue: Where the Light Enters 273

Acknowledgments 279

Editorial Reviews

03/25/2019

In this charming memoir, Biden shares an intimate story of her life with former vice president Joe Biden. Biden grew up in Pennsylvania and New Jersey in the 1950s, the eldest of five girls born to a bank teller and a homemaker. A rebellious teenager—she smoked cigarettes and snuck out to swim at night—Biden attended the University of Delaware and got married at age 18 but divorced a few years later. At 23, on her own and teaching English in Chadds Ford, Pa., she was surprised when dapper 31-year-old Sen. Joe Biden asked her on a date. Biden soon found herself engulfed in the “boisterous” Biden clan, a close-knit and fiercely loyal crew—Joe had two sons with his first wife, who died in a car accident along with their baby daughter a few years earlier—and she and Joe were married two years later. Biden describes the closeness of the family; for example, after the couple decided to have a child together, Joe’s sons from his first marriage were the first to tell their dad of Biden’s pregnancy. The book ends with a moving tribute to her son Beau, who died from brain cancer in 2015. This generous and inspiring portrait of the Biden family is sure to be widely welcomed and enjoyed. (May) Correction: An earlier version of this review misstated the year the author's son Beau died as well as the age of the author and her husband when they started dating.

Publishers Weekly

"In this charming memoir, Biden shares an intimate story of her life with former vice president Joe Biden...This generous and inspiring portrait of the Biden family is sure to be widely welcomed and enjoyed." - Publishers Weekly

"In this often poignant retelling, Biden shares some of the more meaningful moments of her life...Biden's tone is conversational and partially confessional, an endearing quality. Through this personal disclosure, readers gain insight into the fortitude and courage it takes to be a woman with a career and a close-knit family, with the obligations that come with a life as the second lady." - Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher