Spoken from the Heart

Spoken from the Heart (Hardcover)

Laura Bush (Author)

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Product Description

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In this brave, beautiful, and deeply personal memoir, Laura Bush, one of our most beloved and private first ladies, tells her own extraordinary story.

Born in the boom-and-bust oil town of Midland, Texas, Laura Welch grew up as an only child in a family that lost three babies to miscarriage or infant death. She vividly evokes Midland's brash, rugged culture, her close relationship with her father, and the bonds of early friendships that sustain her to this day. For the first time, in heart-wrenching detail, she writes about the devastating high school car accident that left her friend Mike Douglas dead and about her decades of unspoken grief.

When Laura Welch first left West Texas in 1964, she never imagined that her journey would lead her to the world stage and the White House. After graduating from Southern Methodist University in 1968, in the thick of student rebellions across the country and at the dawn of the women's movement, she became an elementary school teacher, working in inner-city schools, then trained to be a librarian. At age thirty, she met George W. Bush, whom she had last passed in the hallway in seventh grade. Three months later, "the old maid of Midland married Midland's most eligible bachelor." With rare intimacy and candor, Laura Bush writes about her early married life as she was thrust into one of America's most prominent political families, as well as her deep longing for children and her husband's decision to give up drinking. By 1993, she found herself in the full glare of the political spotlight. But just as her husband won the Texas governorship in a stunning upset victory, her father, Harold Welch, was dying in Midland.

In 2001, after one of the closest elections in American history, Laura Bush moved into the White House. Here she captures presidential life in the harrowing days and weeks after 9/11, when fighter-jet cover echoed through the walls and security scares sent the family to an underground shelter. She writes openly about the White House during wartime, the withering and relentless media spotlight, and the transformation of her role as she began to understand the power of the first lady. One of the first U.S. officials to visit war-torn Afghanistan, she also reached out to disease-stricken African nations and tirelessly advocated for women in the Middle East and dissidents in Burma. She championed programs to get kids out of gangs and to stop urban violence. And she was a major force in rebuilding Gulf Coast schools and libraries post-Katrina. Movingly, she writes of her visits with U.S. troops and their loved ones, and of her empathy for and immense gratitude to military families.

With deft humor and a sharp eye, Laura Bush lifts the curtain on what really happens inside the White House, from presidential finances to the 175-year-old tradition of separate bedrooms for presidents and their wives to the antics of some White House guests and even a few members of Congress. She writes with honesty and eloquence about her family, her public triumphs, and her personal tribulations. Laura Bush's compassion, her sense of humor, her grace, and her uncommon willingness to bare her heart make this story revelatory, beautifully rendered, and unlike any other first lady's memoir ever written.

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #5 in Books
  • Published on: 2010-05-04
  • Original language: English
  • Number of items: 1
  • Binding: Hardcover
  • 456 pages
Features
  • ISBN13: 9781439155202
  • Condition: NEW
  • Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Customer Reviews:

“Private woman, public life”,
Review Date : May 5, 2010
Reviewed By : Julie Neal (Sanibel Island, Fla.) -

This review is from: Spoken from the Heart (Hardcover)

This chatty biography of former First Lady Laura Bush will appeal to anyone wanting a glimpse of what it is like to be a private person in the public spotlight. The book appears to perfectly capture the author's personality: polite, graceful, a little forgettable but worthy of respect. Whatever your politics, this firsthand account of the day-to-day activities and challenges of a president's spouse will entertain and enlighten.

The most interesting chapters are the first two, about growing up in Midland, Texas. Bush paints a vivid portrait of small-town life. Her beloved Daddy would come whistling into the house, "with dust on his shoes," telling funny stories, eating jalapeños and laughing with her mother. Bush's mother introduced the girl -- a future librarian and teacher -- to her lifelong love of reading, starting with Pinocchio and Snow White. Bush describes sedate "Daddy dates" at age 13, sitting in the backseats of cars driven by her escort's father. At 17, Bush causes a car accident that kills a good friend; the memory haunts her.

After Bush marries W at age 31 (as one townswoman sniffs: "the most eligible bachelor in Midland marrying the old maid of Midland"), the book settles down into recollections of raising twin babies and political travels. Bush is a quiet influence on her husband and girls, as she asks George to stop drinking, and worries the twins might have problems with their eyesight. There is nothing surprising or revelatory here, but it is diverting and well-written.

Included: 78 photos, both color and black and white, on glossy paper.

Other interesting looks at Laura Bush include W. and American Wife: A Novel.

Here's the chapter list:

1. Through the Nursery Glass
2. Dreams and Dust
3. Traveling Light
4. One Hundred and Thirty-two Rooms
5. Goodness in the Land of the Living
6. "Grand Mama Laura"
7. "I Told You I Would Come"
8. Prairie Chapel Mornings

“A Private Life That Became Public”,
Review Date : May 4, 2010
Reviewed By : prisrob "pris," (New EnglandUSA) -

This review is from: Spoken from the Heart (Hardcover)

No matter your politics, Laura Bush has always been a woman that most of us respect. She portrays the love of her man and her family. She loves to read, she likes to travel, take care of her home, and loves her country. Within this book,she has given us a piece of herself.

Laura starts her book by relating her childhood in Midand, Texas Her parents loved children, but her mother had several miscarriages, so Laura was the only child. She was much loved and grew up in a strong, supportive family. She had a normal lively childhood. When she was a young teen, she was driving her friend to a movie, she missed a stop sign and had a collision. One of her good friends died in the crash, and this changed Laura's life. No one spoke about the death, ever. In her book, Laura recommends that everyone face their demons and stand up to them. She wishes she had visited the family, but no one thought it a good idea. This life altering event was faced alone. She went to college, graduated and met George. They fell in love quickly and married. In a few years, twins came along, and Laura's life was complete. All this time her life was private, and then George entered the political world and it changed. She was able to maintain some of her privacy but much of her life was out there for all to see. She discusses her travels as the President's First Lady, her life as a wife and all that entails. She does discuss George Bush's propensity for alcohol, and his decision to stop drinking after a 40th birthday party get away. He is a man of great discipline, she says, and he found exercise and athletics a joy. One of her happiest days was the day they moved back to their ranch as private citizens. She talks about her life now. Taking her mom to Target to Christmas shop. The life of a woman who has seen the world and much prefers home.

Laura Bush opened her private life to share, and it truly is spoken from the heart. I am not a fan of her husband's politics, but I admire Laura Bush a great deal. She has remained true to herself and her family. Her two daughters are beautiful and bright and helpful to the world. She loves her husband, and their ranch near Crawford is where they want to end their days. Kudos to Laura for a story well told.

The Perfect Wife: The Life and Choices of Laura Bush
Laura Bush: An Intimate Portrait of the First Lady

“Literary, Reading, Women's Rights --- A Lasting Legacy”,
Review Date : May 5, 2010
Reviewed By : Dr. David Frisbie (Rancho Santa Fe, CA) -

This review is from: Spoken from the Heart (Hardcover)

Laura Bush, married to the first U.S. president with an earned M.B.A., found herself stereotyped by large portions of the media. Her high intelligence and useful contributions to social welfare --- especially literacy and women's rights --- were often largely ignored and seriously (perhaps intentionally?) under-reported.

Meanwhile, her husband's useful and wise policies were ignored also as opposing politicians called him "a liar" and "stupid" among other epithets. Disagree with George W. Bush if you choose --- but the man is definitely not stupid and certainly not a liar. Why does political disagreement have to take us to such desperate places? Where is the congeniality one finds in the Texas legislature and why is the U.S. Congress so devoid of grace and courtesy?

Now in her own words, given an opportunity to "strike back" against frequent injustices --- Mrs. Bush graciously declines. She does manage to call out a few transgressors, notably Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, but she does so without calling them any names. She simply quotes them and asks "Why did these people speak in this way?" It's a question voters should ask, especially in Nevada and California.

This is an honest, soul-searching book by a public figure whose personal life tends more toward the introvert. Anyone hoping for deeper glimpses into Mrs. Bush's persona will be rewarded here: The real Laura Bush can, and does, stand up.

Well-written and definitely a good read ---- the kind of volume you'd expect from someone with an interest in books and literature.

Five stars for being informative, refreshing, insightful and --- despite the temptations to get even --- quite civilized.

Dr. David Frisbie
The Center for Marriage & Family Studies
Author of "The Soul Mate Marriage" and 9 other books