Where The Light Enters

 I am very curious about people, and that is why I enjoy memoirs, biographies and autobiographies so much.  I saw Where The Light Enters by Jill Biden offered on yet another of my ebook lists, looked to see if it was offered at my library and requested it.  I don’t know very much about Dr. Biden although she was Second Lady for eight years and now First Lady for over a year.

Dr. Biden began with her growing up years, and I began to get to know her.  I had to laugh when she recounted the out-of-the-blue call she got from then Senator Joe Biden.  They have such a loving and supportive marriage.  She wanted to continue her career as a teacher instead of becoming an unemployed politician’s spouse.

There has been tragedy in their lives.  President Biden lost his first wife and infant daughter in a terrible car crash.  Not long after they married, Dr. Biden recounted a terrifying experience in which her husband nearly died from an aneurysm.  Worst of all was the loss of Beau, the son, to the same brain cancer that also killed Senators Ted Kennedy and John McCain.

Dr. Biden is candid about her feelings at different periods of her life.  She is a loving and devoted wife, mother and nana.  She has been involved with issues affecting the well being of women and girls victimized in the Congo and military families here in the US.  She's taught disadvantaged students for most of her career.  Most moving was her experiences with deep grief over the loss of Beau.

I was reading this book when news broke about Ukraine.  It was a welcome respite to escape into the pages of this book and read the words of a woman who loves her family and country deeply.