Biographies & Memoirs | Leaders & Notable People
Biographies & memoirs | Memoirs
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 Midland, Texas, Laura Welch grew up much loved with a strong supportive family. She was the only child in a family that lost three babies to miscarriage or infant death. When she was a young teen, while driving a friend to a movie, she missed a stop sign. In the collision one of her good friends died. This changed Laura's life. No one spoke about the death, ever. In Spoken from the Heart, Laura recommends that we face our 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.
In Spoken from the Heart, 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. 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, she became an elementary school teacher, working in inner-city schools, and was trained to be a librarian. At age thirty, she met George W. Bush. They fell in love very quickly and just three months later, "the old maid of Midland married Midland's most eligible bachelor." In a few years, twins came along, and Laura's life was complete. All this time her life was private, but 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.
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. She discusses her travels as the President's First Lady, her life as a wife and all that entails. She discusses George Bush's propensity for alcohol, and his decision to stop drinking after a 40th birthday party get away.
What Wall Street Journal said about this memoir: “Mrs. Bush’s delicate rendering . . . sets this book far apart from the typical score-settling reminiscences of politicians or their spouses. . . .Spoken from the Heart reveals Laura Bush to be a beautiful writer, a keen observer and a tender soul who drew on her roots to live a life in the public eye with compassion and grace.”
One person said, "Laura said one of her happiest days was the day they moved back to their ranch as private citizens. She talks about her life now, and taking her mother shopping. Laura is a woman who has seen the world and prefers home. Laura opens up about her private life and it is truly "spoken from the heart." She has remained true to herself and her family. She has two beautiful, bright daughters, loves her husband and their ranch near Crawford. The ranch is where they hope to live out their days."
D. Black wrote, "I've long respected and admired Laura Bush, but after reading Spoken From The Heart, my respect and admiration for her greatly increased. Reading about the scheduled events and obligations; the meetings, dinners, and trips as First Lady, I realized how little personal time she had left for family and friends and introspection. During her years as First Lady, she worked tirelessly to bring awareness to the many basic unmet human needs in health in Africa and Haiti and elsewhere, literacy and women's rights in Afghanistan, and the many freedoms that are so lacking in many countries around the world. Through her efforts avenues were opened to begin to bring solutions to some of these serious problems. She helped illuminate and honor the resiliency of the human spirit of people everywhere. This book was an eye opener for me into the lives of President Bush and Mrs. Bush, all the people who served with them, and the utter complexity of solving world problems. She met many people; the rich and the poor, the powerful and famous and the unknown, the well and the sick, the kind and the rude, and treated them all with the civility and grace that are her hallmarks. She is truly a remarkable person."