INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
"[The] rare biography of a public figure that's not only beautifully
written, but also shockingly revelatory." -- The Atlantic
A vivid biography of former First Lady Barbara Bush, one of the most
influential and under-appreciated women in American political history.
Barbara Pierce Bush was one of the country's most popular and powerful
figures, yet her full story has never been told.
THE MATRIARCH tells the riveting tale of a woman who helped define two
American presidencies and an entire political era. Written by USA
TODAY's Washington Bureau chief Susan Page, this biography is informed
by more than one hundred interviews with Bush friends and family
members, hours of conversation with Mrs. Bush herself in the final six
months of her life, and access to her diaries that spanned decades. THE
MATRIARCH examines not only her public persona but also less well-known
aspects of her remarkable life.
As a girl in Rye, New York, Barbara Bush weathered criticism of her
weight from her mother, barbs that left lifelong scars. As a young wife,
she coped with the death of her three-year-old daughter from leukemia, a
loss that changed her forever. In middle age, she grappled with
depression so serious that she contemplated suicide. And as first the
wife and then the mother of American presidents, she made history as the
only woman to see -- and advise -- both her husband and son in the Oval
Office.
As with many women of her era, Barbara Bush was routinely
underestimated, her contributions often neither recognized nor
acknowledged. But she became an astute and trusted political campaign
strategist and a beloved First Lady. She invested herself deeply in
expanding literacy programs in America, played a critical role in the
end of the Cold War, and led the way in demonstrating love and
compassion to those with HIV/AIDS. With her cooperation, this book
offers Barbara Bush's last words for history -- on the evolution of her
party, on the role of women, on Donald Trump, and on her family's
legacy.
Barbara Bush's accomplishments, struggles, and contributions are many.
Now, Susan Page explores them all in THE MATRIARCH, a groundbreaking
book certain to cement Barbara Bush as one of the most unique and
influential women in American history.
