Promise Me Dad by Joe Biden

My Rating: 7 / 10

I have always admired Joe Biden from what I have seen, heard and read of his public life and persona. He may have his gaffs and of course his personality has put some people off. When I saw this book released however I jumped on it to learn more about Joe Biden, his life and family.

This book is best described as the chronicles of his son Beau’s life as he develops terminal brain disease. This coupled with Biden’s Vice Presidential anecdotes produces a book with an intertwined story of intrigue and sorrow.

What’s clear throughout the book is Biden’s undivided love for his son and entire family. The impact of his Beau’s death hit Biden hard and he discusses how he dealt with the situation; whether moving forward or even considering the potential of a presidential campaign.

I did enjoy the book however had I have known exactly how it was written I probably would not have picked it up. The book I was looking more would have been the typical biography about Biden, his life and achievements. Given the timing of the release it wasn’t meant to be that kind of book. Whilst I did get that in parts the switching was a little too much for me.

Three key takeaways from the book:

1. Barack Obama offered to pay for Beau’s surgery costs. At the time Joe Biden was about to take out a second mortgage on his house to help pay for the medical bill.
2. Amazing the support Biden had during his son’s medical situation all the way up to the President! It was nice to know that at the level of Vice-President of the USA that one can still rely on support from your team.
3. Joe Biden’s net worth is quite small. I had this impression that most long serving US Senators have the ability to inside-trade (legally) and garner quite a substantial set of investments. Joe Biden at the time of running for Vice-President had no stocks with the only asset being his house.